Minority votes are also important: Nantadet

On Friday, Nantadet took to Facebook to remind foreign lawmakers that “every nation manages itself according to its society and culture for its economic well-being and stability.”

He said majority governments in Western countries differ from those in Thailand, and noted that a US presidential candidate can win the popular vote but fail to become president if he or she does not win the electoral college. Similarly, in the Thai system, voters elect MPs and the Parliament selects the prime minister.

Once in power, if a majority of lawmakers cannot form a government, a minority government takes over. Nantadet said this was the case in Canada, where Justin Trudeau, who he referred to as Pita's idol, is the prime minister but his party does not have a majority of seats in that country’s parliament. The same is true in France, Spain and Sweden, Nantadet said.

He added that a clear example of a minority securing the prime ministerial position is Sweden, which he called “the most democratic nation in the world”.

It is also the country with the most nongovernmental organisations (NGOs), and although their NGOs receive foreign funding, they do not interfere in the country’s internal politics, Nantadet said.

He noted that Sweden has had seven consecutive minority governments and that the present government is a three-party coalition of the Moderate, Christian Democrat, and Liberal parties, with a total of 112 seats. Affiliate parties that have not joined the government are the Sweden Democrats and two independent MPs who contribute to stabilising the coalition government. In total, the coalition holds 176 seats.

On the other hand, the opposition is led by the Swedish Social Democratic Party, which has 100 seats and is joined by other parties that give it a total of 173 seats. The Swedish parliament has 349 seats in total: 310 of its lawmakers are elected and 49 are appointed.

“Now, if you want to talk about the majority, you must understand that the minority is also equally important. Therefore, the majority must act in a way that is acceptable to the minority,” Nantadet concluded.