Thaksin invites Suwat to merge his Chart Pattana with Pheu Thai
Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra Saturday publicly invited Suwat Liptapanlop, chairman of the Chart Pattana Party, to merge with the ruling Pheu Thai Party.
Thaksin made the suggestion while attending a dinner party at the Seow Seow Restaurant in Korat on Saturday night. Suwat had booked the entire restaurant to throw a party for Thaksin and his delegation.
Thaksin was warmly received by red-shirt people when he arrived in Nakhon Ratchasima province on Saturday to attend the cremation of Wichai Changlek, his loyal long-time driver, who died last year at 73.
Speaking on the live band stage of the restaurant, Thaksin said he was glad to meet Suwat, who had been his long-time friend since the time Suwat ran the Puang Chon Chao Thai Party.
“Suwat is an honest person. He loves General Chatichai Choonhavan [former prime minister] a lot and he thinks the Chart Pattana is a legacy of Chatichai that he has to take care of,” Thaksin said.
“It won’t be long before Suwat will become a key lieutenant of the Pheu Thai,” Thaskin added, drawing excited reactions from the gathering.
Thaksin, who is seen as the de facto leader of the Pheu Thai, quickly added that he was speaking on behalf of his daughter, Pheu Thai leader Paetongtarn Shinawatra.
“She asked me to lip-sync this invitation on her behalf, as she is young and does not dare to personally extend the invitation,” Thaksin said.
At the moment, Paetongtarn, who was sitting at a table, raised her hand to cover her mouth in a whispering gesture and shouted: “I’ve invited him behind the scenes”.
When Thaksin walked into the restaurant, the music band played a Thai song “Born to be a fighter”, which Thaksin once sang on his YouTube channel two years ago when he was still in exile.
In his welcoming speech, Suwat said Korat had been developed into a large northeastern city by two prime ministers – Chatichai and Thaksin.
“Today, I would like to ask the Pheu Thai government to promote several soft power products of Nakhon Ratchasima,” Suwat said.
When Thaksin was asked by reporters, who were dining, if he would offer a dowry for marrying Chart Pattana with Pheu Thai, he replied tongue-in-cheek, “No, no. I was just talking in the air.”
Asked whether he would be visiting southern provinces as well, Thaksin said he had no schedule to visit the South. He said he had visited Korat to attend the cremation rite.
