Pheu Thai keen on making amends to departing foreign minister

Sorawong Thienthong said on Monday that he has not yet spoken to Parnpree after he resigned from his foreign minister’s post on Sunday, but would invite him for a talk later.

Parnpree announced his resignation on Sunday, shortly after the new Cabinet list was published in the Royal Gazette. In his resignation, Parnpree strongly hinted that he was dissatisfied with his removal from the deputy prime minister’s post.

Sorawong, however, said he believes Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin had spoken to the ministers who were being removed before announcing the new Cabinet list.

“Anyway, I will definitely hold talks with Parnpree. I may invite him to work as an advisor or ask him to help with the party’s affairs,” Sorawong said. “But we will respect all of Parnpree’s decisions.”

When asked if the Pheu Thai members will battle with each other for the posts left vacant by Parnpree, Sorawong said he does not think so.

He added that Pheu Thai’s main mission is to serve the people and Cabinet seats would not matter much to party members.

However, he chose not to elaborate when asked whether former public health minister Cholnan Srikaew and former deputy agriculture minister Chaiya Promma will be given prominent roles in Parliament now that they have been removed from the Cabinet.

He said both Cholnan and Chaiya were already working as coalition MPs, and there was a chance for them to win Cabinet seats in the future as the government still had three years left in its tenure.