Somkid's economic team has to hit the ground running

“I don’t like the ‘divide and rule’ practice. I would prefer to let Mr Somkid [Jatusripitak] work without being constantly picked on by the PM’s advisers – as was the case for me,” he said, in an unusually defiant statement.

There was little doubt that Pridiyathorn was aiming his criticism at the premier who, in turn, wasted no time hitting back: “If he doesn’t want to be my adviser, let it be.” 

It was certainly not a warm parting of ways between the prime minister and one of the most visible faces of his economic team in the Cabinet.

Pridiyathorn didn’t elaborate on who was using the  “divide and rule” policy against him – or how. But to most observers, there was little doubt about the purpose of his message. The deputy premier was unhappy that he hadn’t been consulted – or even informed – about the Cabinet reshuffle. 

Meanwhile General Prayut, though he didn’t say it in so many words, must have been highly frustrated by reports that his deputy premier for economic affairs was telling a group of leading business leaders over a private dinner that the top man in government was talking a lot about something he wasn’t really quite familiar with – the country’s economy.

Pridiyathorn denied having made that statement. “How could I have said that about the premier?” he asked reporters. Earlier, the premier had reportedly shown a remarkable degree of calm in saying he hadn’t asked Pridiyathorn about the story – and that he had no reason to doubt his denial.

But it was obvious that things weren’t going well between the two, with the premier coming under increasing pressure to demonstrate he could manage the economic ministers in such a way as to produce concrete results in the wake of a series of grim economic reports.

He finally took the plunge, obviously after having consulted his powerful “elder brother”, Deputy Premier and Defence Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan – a former classmate of Pridiyathorn – and overhauled his economic team.

The man who had been waiting in the wings for months finally emerged, with a clear mandate to manage the Cabinet’s economic ministers without any adviser looking over his shoulder.

Somkid sought – and obtained – the premier’s green light to bring in his own team in a bid to get the country out of limbo. He made it a point to declare on his first day in office that his unit would work as “one team” – and that he would make sure that all concerned ministries and government agencies worked together to overcome the country’s economic woes.

The challenge is a tough one. Even if he tries hard to differentiate himself from Pridiyathorn, Somkid will find it hard to come up with any dramatically divergent approach, except that with a consolidated team, he might be able to offer a more concerted effort with concrete results.

Now that Somkid’s team is running most of the main economic portfolios – finance, commerce, industry, public transport, and foreign affairs – there will be no excuse for not producing coordinated “quick wins” with some concrete “early harvests”.

There won’t be a “honeymoon” period. Nor will be there any talk about easing into the jobs. The public will be evaluating the team’s performance on a monthly basis, with quarterly results coming under close scrutiny.

Somkid’s first public statement in his new position offered a glimpse of the priorities of his agenda: First, the grass-roots economy must be given a shot in the arm, followed by close monitoring of the prices of farm products, which is the critical factor in pushing up domestic consumption. He also talked about boosting the country’s competitiveness, with the first major measures to be taken “within one and a half years”.

That means he will have to hit the ground running. He has made it clear that he will extend a hand to leaders in the private sector in his first major public appearance. But the real test will be whether he and his team can restore public confidence – and not only in the ability of the Cabinet economics crew to get things done in a short time, but also in the whole government’s credibility and stability.

It’s a tall order. But it’s a battle he can’t afford to lose.