Analysis: Govt reeling as Anutin switches to Thaksin’s side ahead of election
The Bhumjaithai Party last week broke ranks with the ruling Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) by voting for a bill to end the Senates’ power to select the prime minister.
Pundits see Bhumjaithai’s move as a cunning power play by its leader, Deputy PM and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, ahead of the next general election. The election must be called by March when the House of Representatives' four-year term expires.
Political analysts say Anutin has noted the waning popularity of generals Prayut Chan-o-cha, Prawit Wongsuwan and Anupong “Pok” Paochinda – the so-called 3Ps who have ruled Thailand since the 2014 coup.
The observers believe Anutin realised the trio was losing its grip on power after Gen Prayut was suspended as PM pending a Constitutional Court ruling on whether his eight-year tenure expired on August 24.
However, the so-called pro-democracy opposition parties suffered a blow when the bill to end the Senate’s power in electing the prime minister was shot down at the first reading. It failed to win the required support of 364 MPs and 84 senators during a joint sitting of Parliament on Wednesday.
Over the weekend, Anutin explained why his party had joined the Democrats and opposition parties to vote in support of the bill. The PPRP and most senators voted against the bill since the ruling party is relying on Senate support to get its prime minister candidate elected – just as it did for Gen Prayut in 2019.
Anutin questioned the fairness of allowing unelected Senators to decide who becomes PM.
“If a candidate has support from 250 MPs but senators elect another politician as the prime minister, that candidate will be the most pitiful person in the world,” he said.
Observers believe Anutin is preparing for a tenure ruling against Prayut. Hence he is distancing himself from the PPRP in expectation of forming a coalition government with the Pheu Thai Party, widely believed to be controlled by former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Pundits reckon Anutin was under pressure to show Thaksin that he has switched sides, so he chose to vote for the bill.
Thaksin, who was ousted by the 2006 coup and has lived overseas since a 2018 conviction for corruption, had earlier criticised Anutin during a talk on the Clubhouse platform.
“Don’t’ believe Anutin. He once said he would not elect Prayut as prime minister but eventually he elected Prayut Chan-o-cha,” Thaksin said.
Anutin then sought to explain why his party had supported Prayut for PM four years ago.
He claimed he had initially planned to join a Pheu Thai-led coalition government but it failed to gather the required majority of 375 MPs.
“I feared the country would erupt in turmoil, so I joined the PPRP-led coalition,” Anutin said.
Under the junta led by the “3 P” generals, Anutin distanced himself from Pheu Thai by portraying his party as non-partisan and ready to work with any side. Now, however, he is playing the democratic card.
Political observers point to Anutin’s biography – “Where There is a Hole, There is a Rat” – as proof of his opportunistic nature. Anutin’s nickname is “Noo”, or rat in Thai.
