PM’s policy advisory team to play a major role in govt decisions

The Prime Minister's policy advisory team, led by Pansak Vinyaratn as chief advisor, Dr Surapong Suebwonglee as deputy chief advisor, and advisors Supavud Saicheua, Tongthong Chandransu, and Pongthep Thepkanjana, is tasked with providing recommendations and suggestions on government policy implementation as assigned by the Prime Minister.

Pansak is a trusted confidant of Thaksin Shinawatra, with whom he has maintained close communication for advice and on whose CARE (Creative Action for Revival & People Empowerment ) talk programme he appeared occasionally while the former prime minister was in exile abroad. In his new role, he will oversee both domestic and international policy perspectives.

The advisory team is composed of experienced figures from various fields, including academics, legal experts, and former civil servants, all of whom have worked closely with Thaksin and Paetongtarn.

Prior to the 2023 elections, Dr Surapong played a leading role in promoting the CARE group under the slogan “Think, Move, Thailand.” This initiative led to a political analysis programme with Thaksin as the main speaker. He later provided advice to Paetongtarn when she became chairperson for Participation and Innovation at the Pheu Thai Party.

Supavud Saicheua was considered for the post of Finance Minister to drive economic policies promoted by Pheu Thai during the 2023 election campaign. He remains an economic advisor to the party.

Tongthong Chandransu, former Permanent Secretary to the Prime Minister’s Office, held the same position during Yingluck Shinawatra’s administration from 2011 to 2014.

Pongthep Thepkanjana, former Deputy Prime Minister in Yingluck's government, has a strong legal background, having served as a member of the 1997 Constitution Drafting Assembly and worked alongside Thaksin since the Palang Dharma Party, eventually joining Thai Rak Thai. He is expected to help drive the government’s constitutional and legal reforms.

This advisory model is seen as a revival of the “Ban Phitsanulok Advisory Team,” which General Chatichai Choonhavan, the 17th Prime Minister, appointed when he took office.

Chatichai’s goal in 1988 was for this team of intellectuals and young scholars to help refine the government's policies.

One of the most notable achievements of the Ban Phitsanulok Advisory Team, with Pansak as chief advisor, was the “Turning Battlefields into Marketplaces” policy, which ended internal conflicts in Cambodia and fostered economic cooperation between Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, significantly boosting the economies of both Thailand and its neighbours.

Pansak holds a degree in International Law from the University of London and worked as a journalist for the English-language daily Bangkok World before going into the computer consultancy business where he provided legal consultation on copyright law.

After his tenure with the Ban Phitsanulok advisory team, Pansak was invited by the Thaksin Shinawatra administration to serve as chief policy advisor for the Thai Rak Thai Party. He also served as an advisor to the governments of Samak Sundaravej and Yingluck Shinawatra.

However, in the Srettha Thavisin government, Pansak was not included in the Prime Minister's advisory team. Srettha appointed him as an advisor and member of the National Soft Power Strategy Committee.

A source within the government compared the differences in the advisory approaches of two prime ministers, Srettha and Paetongtarn, noting that Paetongtarn tends to listen to input from both civil servants and political appointees before issuing directives and is likely to take her advisory team's opinions into account.

In contrast, Srettha, with a high level of self-confidence and a more assertive personality, tended to issue directives without much consultation, which reportedly led to discontent among civil servants in the government and affected the administration's policy execution.

The advisory team, with Pansak playing a key role in setting the strategic direction, and Dr Surapong facilitating communication between the chief advisor and Paetongtarn, aims to ensure that the Pheu Thai Party's flagship policies are effectively implemented.