Talks on next coalition begin
Pheu Thai asks two small parties to join cabinet
Pheu Thai began negotiating with potential partners in a new coalition government after an unofficial vote count suggested it had won more than half of the Lower House seats in yesterday's election.
With a projected win of less than 300 seats, Pheu Thai will need the cooperation of at least three other parties to ensure government stability, said a party source.
Pheu Thai confirmed last night that it has discussed with Chartthaipattana the possibility of joining a coalition, while sources said the Phalang Chon Party and Chart Pattana Puea Pandin parties could also be possible partners.
According to the sources, negotiations for cabinet seats have already begun.
Chartthaipattana is seeking two ministerial posts and three deputy ministerial posts. The party is eyeing the Finance Ministry, the Commerce Ministry and the Transport Ministry.
Chart Pattana Puea Pandin wants to keep the Energy Ministry it was responsible for under the Democrat-led coalition, while Phalang Chon is likely to get one ministerial seat.
More negotiations are expected when each party knows how many seats it has won, said the sources.
As of press time last night, with more than 95% of votes counted, the projection was that Pheu Thai would win 262 seats, with the Democrats taking 160.
Pheu Thai itself is eyeing the Interior, Defence, Finance, Foreign and Transport ministries.
These portfolios are crucial to implementing the party's economic platforms and its plan to bring exiled former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra back to Thailand.
The sources said two cabinet seats under the party's quota will be given to key financiers who did not contest the polls, while the remaining seats will be allocated among those high on the party list.
The source said there are three candidates for the House speaker post _ list candidate Apiwan Wiriyachai, Ayutthaya candidate Witthaya Buranasiri, and Khon Kaen candidate Somsak Kiatsuranont.
Pheu Thai No 1 list candidate Yingluck Shinawatra confirmed Pheu Thai had approached Chartthaipattana about it joining the coalition government and is considering which other parties to invite.
Ms Yingluck, potentially Thailand's first female prime minister, thanked voters for their overwhelming support after it became clear that a decisive majority was within reach.
"It's not Pheu Thai's victory. It's the fellow voters who gave me and Pheu Thai a chance to work for the country," she said.
"There is a lot of work ahead _ tackling economic woes and leading the country on the path of reconciliation. These tasks fall upon me and this is the beginning."
She also thanked the Democrats and other parties for their efforts in allowing yesterday's election to proceed as smoothly as it did.
Ms Yingluck pledged to fulfill the party's campaign promises.
"We will put into practice every policy platform we have promised," she said.
"We will not disappoint the people."
She said the party's work would be easier and the government more stable if it really won a majority in the House, as unofficial results showed.
On the possible return of her brother Thaksin, Ms Yingluck said she would leave the matter to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
"The party has no policy to work for [just] one man," she said.
Ms Yingluck's announcement came shortly after Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva admitted defeat and congratulated her on Pheu Thai's victory.
Pheu Thai's base in Bang Rak district was filled with supporters dressed in red and carrying red flags. The crowds roared as they watched Mr Abhisit concede defeat on television.
Natthawut Saikua, a list candidate and red-shirt leader, said the red shirt movement would not declare this as a victory.
"We are not fighting for any one party to form a government," he said.
"We are fighting for democracy and the end of double standards in the justice system."
Meanwhile, a political scientist yesterday warned of tough days ahead for Ms Yingluck, as she will come under serious scrutiny from the Democrats and will face difficult decisions on amnesty and economic issues.
The amnesty was probably the party's most vulnerable point, which its opponents would exploit. Chaichana Inkhachot, political science lecturer at Ramkhamhaeng University, said that if the new government seeks an amnesty for banned politicians, Pheu Thai will lose popularity among the rural electorate who want her priority to be improving their standard of living.
Furthermore, the Democrat Party and the yellow-shirt People's Alliance for Democracy have clearly stated their opposition to the amnesty, Mr Chaichana said. He said if Ms Yingluck could not deliver on her campaign pledges within six months, she would face further complications once the "honeymoon period" of her victory is over.
But the Democrat Party, he said, would lose yet more support without reforming its ways and image.
"The party doesn't know how things work here," he said.
"It has the working system of a party in a developed country, but Thai society has complicated problems."
Assistant Professor Siripan Noksuan Sawasdi, of Chulalongkorn University's political science faculty, said the Democrats lost because they could not live up to the people's expectations.
She said that the government under its leadership failed to tackle economic problems and could not repair social divisions.
She said it was time for the party to rethink its strategy for future elections, especially on how to expand its support bases, as the Democrats barely made any impact on any of its opponents' strongholds.
"The party lost because it failed to build networks of people, unlike Pheu Thai which has set up grass roots networks," she said.
Nguồn: Bangkok Post,
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/politics/245277/talks-on-next-coalition-begin
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