Thailand PM Anutin invites Thaksin-backed Pheu Thai party to join coalition
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Mr Anutin Charnvirakul's party is aiming to build an alliance with the backing of at least 280 members to last a full four-year term in office.
PHOTO: REUTERS
BANGKOK – Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s conservative party, which scored a thumping victory in Thailand’s general election
A meeting of party officials is scheduled for 2.30pm local time (3.30pm, Singapore time), Pheu Thai Secretary-General Prasert Jantararuangtong told reporters.
The decision to invite the third-place Pheu Thai, backed by former leader Thaksin Shinawatra’s family, was taken after a meeting of Bhumjaithai Party’s executives and newly elected lawmakers on Feb 12.
Mr Prasert said Pheu Thai is open to joining the coalition, and has set no conditions for talks.
Ms Nan Boonthida Somchai, a spokeswoman for Bhumjaithai, said the party has authorised Mr Anutin and Mr Chaichanok Chidchob, party’s secretary-general and son of founder Newin Chidchob, to conduct coalition talks.
Mr Anutin’s party, which won about 193 seats in the 500-member Lower House riding on a wave of nationalism and pro-incumbency, is aiming to build an alliance with the backing of at least 280 members to last a full four-year term in office.
With Pheu Thai’s provisional tally of 74 and the support of about 30 lawmakers from small parties, an Anutin-led government will have a comfortable majority in Parliament to ensure the smooth passage of its legislative agenda, a senior official with Bhumjaithai official, who asked not to be identified, said earlier.
Thailand’s stocks and currency have rallied this week, mainly on optimism that Mr Anutin’s convincing election victory will help end a bout of political upheaval in recent years, which undermined economic growth and led to its markets underperforming peers.
On Feb 12, Mr Anutin said he wasn’t in a rush to form a coalition and his focus will be to lead a stable government that focuses on fiscal discipline.
If Pheu Thai, which suffered its worst electoral showing since Thaksin founded his own party in 1998, declines to join the coalition, Bhumjaithai will ask Klatham, another conservative party with 58 lawmakers, to join the bloc, the official said.
Forming a government with Pheu Thai, while saving Klatham as an option, is the best-case scenario for the ruling party in terms of public perception and leverage, said Dr Stithorn Thananithichot, political science lecturer at Chulalongkorn University.
For Pheu Thai, being in the government may help it leverage access to power to stage a comeback in the next election, he said.
The addition of Pheu Thai’s Mr Yodchanan Wongsawat, Thaksin’s nephew, to the new Cabinet may also bolster its credibility.
Mr Anutin has already signalled that he will retain a core team of technocrats, including Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas and Commerce Minister Suphajee Suthumpun in the new administration.
“In the short term, the new government can manage to stay afloat with a somewhat conservative economic policy,” Dr Stithorn said. “In the long run, they need to demonstrate that they can succeed on a more forward-looking economic path.”
While a new government is unlikely to take office for several weeks to allow for official election procedures to wind down, an early finalisation of the coalition makeup will allow Mr Anutin to fine-tune his administration’s policy priorities.
Standard Chartered expects “a running government may be in place by June” as coalition formation is expected to be noisy, according to economist Tim Leelahaphan. BLOOMBERG
