Move Forward and Pheu Thai: a love-hate relationship

History was made on May 14 when the Move Forward party shocked political analysts by emerging victorious in the general election, securing 14.4 million votes and 151 out of 500 seats in the House of Representatives.

The progressive party beat the Pheu Thai party, which had never fallen short of the top spot since its founding in 2007. Pheu Thai came in second place with roughly 10 million votes and 141 House seats.

However, Pita, once PM-in-waiting, is now suspended as an MP and risks being banned from politics. His party, meanwhile, has been relegated to the opposition bench, despite the big win in May’s election.

Move Forward and Pheu Thai once swore that they would clutch each other's hands and never let go. In reality, the opposite was true as both sides pointed fingers and called each other enemies.

Runner-up Pheu Thai took the helm and successfully landed its candidate Thailand’s 30th prime ministerial post.

Pheu Thai’s promise

Almost a decade of government under coup leader Prayut Chan-o-cha’s regime concluded with a rise in more liberal minds in the country.

The “Orange Party”, as Move Forward is often fondly referred to by its many fans, has achieved significant milestones. It won party list votes in more than 44 provinces. This feat is particularly noteworthy in regions traditionally considered strongholds of big parties, such as Chiang Mai, the hometown of former PM Thaksin Shinawatra.

Soon after the election result was announced, the two biggest winners announced their intention to form a coalition with six smaller parties, giving them the majority of House members. They all agreed to propose Pita as their sole candidate for the country’s top job.

But it was not to be. The Harvard graduate was blocked by junta-picked senators in the first round of PM voting on July 13, then 395 out of 750 parliamentarians (250 of them senators) prevented his name from being put forward for the second time.

Dr Cholnan Srikaew, Pheu Thai’s leader at that time, told the public that he had reaffirmed again and again, perhaps as many as 500 times, that Pheu Thai would back Pita to become the 30th PM and would stand behind Move Forward until it successfully formed a government, no matter what happened.

Cholnan also said, “The possibility of Pheu Thai joining forces with junta-backed parties is zero.”

The eight-party alliance chose to prove their commitment to one another by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that included 23 issues they would like to address if they were in power.

The rift between the two parties

The first sign of discord emerged when the coalition had to decide on the new House speaker.

Both parties wanted the position because of the speaker’s authority to manage debates, make judgments on meeting schedules and agenda orders, oversee parliamentary affairs, and appoint House committee members.

Pheu Thai veteran MP Adisorn Piengkes said during a party meeting that Move Forward was “monopolising the power”, pointing out that the election-winning party seeking to get both the premiership and House Speaker post was overly ambitious.

“I don’t want to see a new monk becoming an abbot. We have many good people. Don’t give in to them,” said Adisorn, metaphorically referring to Move Forward.

Some Pheu Thai senior members also commented that the coalition might collapse if Move Forward continued to seek the speaker’s post.

The row was settled when the two sides reached an agreement to appoint an intermediary for the position. Wan Muhamad Noor Matha, the former leader of the coalition's Prachachart party, was selected, with the decision taken just a day before the House speaker vote.

The break up

After the bid to grant Pita the position of premier was unsuccessful, Move Forward stepped aside to make way for Pheu Thai to form the next Thai government.

The 43-year-old candidate was denied the chance due to his intention to amend the lese-majeste law as widely claimed by the junta-appointed senators, even though he won the election and could garner more than half of the Lower House seats.

Instead of sticking with its old allies, Pheu Thai decided to join forces with its old foes - Palang Pracharath, and United Thai Nation, whose PM candidates were leaders in the coup that ousted the Pheu Thai government of Yingluck Shinawatra in 2014.

Images of politicians participating in the so-called “Choc-Mint party” circulated widely on the internet, sparking strong backlash from their supporters.

On August 21, Pheu Thai announced its new 11-party coalition to form a government, excluding Move Forward and officially ending 73 days of its relationship with the “orange party”.

Following the decision, Pheu Thai said it had no other option, as all the other parties in its new coalition had made it clear they did not want the election winner to be included.

Chaithawat Tulathon, Move Forward’s secretary-general at that time, was quick to say that these events portrayed the distortion of Thai politics and underscored the fact that the supreme power does not belong to the people.

“If we [Pheu Thai and Move Forward] held hands tightly, this kind of situation would not have happened.” he reiterated.

Enemies forever?

There is a saying in Thai politics that “there are no permanent friends or enemies”.
Recently, Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, the former leader of the now-defunct Future Forward party (Move Forward’s predecessor), told Thai-language media that despite standing on the opposite side, he still sees Pheu Thai as his ally.

"I believe Move Forward and Pheu Thai are allies. They could work together to promote and restore democracy in the country,” said Thanathorn, who is seen as a spiritual leader of Move Forward.

Thanathorn also disclosed that he had a meeting with ex-PM Thaksin who made a surprising return to Thailand after 15 years of self-imposed exile. The meeting, however, did not involve discussions on political matters, he said.

Political observers raised a question about the potential movement between the two parties in the future.

Some experts said 2023 has turned out to be quite the year with unexpected several events unfolding, and there would be more ahead in the coming year.

There is also another saying in Thai politics that’s often quoted by political pundits. It goes: “Everything can happen in Thai politics”.