Deputy Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has dismissed speculation over a pending cabinet reshuffle that could see his Bhumjaithai Party removed from the coalition of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra.
He said there is a moral contract among the parties making up the Pheu Thai-led coalition government to stay together. “The moral contract is more important than any written contract,” he told Thai PBS in an interview over the weekend.
Anutin was responding to the speculation in the Thai media over the past few weeks that Prime Minister Paetongtarn was pondering a Cabinet reshuffle.
The speculation was partly fueled by what was seen as former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s critical comments against Bhumjaithai Party.
Bhumjaithai, a senior partner in the Paetongtarn coalition, does not see eye to eye with Pheu Thai Party on a number of issues, including the latter’s entertainment complex plan and its earlier attempt to amend the Constitution.
The two parties were also rivals in the recent local elections.
Thaksin last week said some parties in the coalition government have been spending more time “dancing than doing real work.” He did not mention names.
Some Thai media outlets have reported that Pheu Thai Party wants to wrestle some of the major ministries from its coalition partners, including the Interior Ministry which is now run by Anutin.
Anutin said he saw no signs of a pending Cabinet reshuffle and called for an end to such speculation. Prime Minister Paetongarn also stated over the weekend that she had no plans to reshuffle the Cabinet.
