Sudarat warns of coalition unravelling amid tussle for speaker post

Sudarat said if the two largest parties of the eight-partner coalition decided to allow free voting for the post of House speaker, it would lead to rifts and the “the end of the democratic side”.

The Thai Sang Thai is one eight partners of the Move Forward-led coalition.

It has been reported that a large group of Pheu Thai MPs have been stepping up pressure on the second-largest coalition partner to demand the post of House speaker from Move Forward.

Pheu Thai MPs reportedly expressed confidence that the party would win the post if Move Forward and Pheu Thai contested freely without the coalition making a decision on the speaker.

The new House is expected to hold a meeting in the middle of next month to elect the House speaker and two deputies.

Sudarat was speaking to reporters when she and five other Thai Sang Thai MPs reported to work at the House of Representatives.

The Thai Sang Thai won five constituency MPs and Sudarat got the party’s only party-list House seat.

“The election of House speaker is the most crucial because if it is not handled smoothly, the formation of the government will be in trouble,” Sudarat said.

She said she did not have a stance on which party should get the House speaker’s post, but she would like Pheu Thai and Move Forward to hold talks and end the conflicts soon.

Sudarat said her 32 years of experience in politics had taught her that if the disputes drag on until the House convenes a meeting to elect the House speaker, trouble would ensue.

“The two largest parties must know that the post is very important. The speaker is not only the head of the legislative branch but will play a crucial role in the current political situation,” Sudarat said.

“I place my hopes on the first and second largest parties. I am giving them moral support to hold talks, taking the public interest into account. If they both contest for the post and allow coalition MPs to vote freely, it would spell the end for the democratic side,” Sudarat reiterated.

Sudarat also confirmed that she had earlier planned to step down as party-list MP to be replaced by a candidate lower on the list.

However, she said, leaders of other coalition partners asked her to change her mind and stay on to help form the coalition government first.

She added that her Thai Sang Thai had not made any demand for Cabinet seats but her party would like to see the next government set up smoothly.

She also reiterated that her party would like to see the Constitution rewritten by a newly elected charter drafting assembly to make it more democratic without political traps.

She cited the appointment of 250 senators and the requirement for future governments to comply with the 20-year master plan on national development as political traps embedded in the current charter.