It could be seen as one of Pheu Thai’s most humiliating moments, a political party that prides itself on its pro-democracy stance. Its top brass, including one of its prime ministerial candidates, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, literally walked to the headquarters of the Move Forward party on Wednesday to beg for support for its ongoing attempts to form a coalition government.
It’s only a short walk between the offices of the two parties, making the march a perfect political stunt, which resounded loudly on social media.
On one hand, it served Pheu Thai’s purpose of publicly demonstrating how serious it is in enlisting Move Party’s support to end the current political impasse.
On the other hand, however, it reflects the quandary in which Pheu Thai has found itself, as it struggles to cobble together a coalition. For Move Forward, it’s probably the first time that it finds itself having the upper hand, since being unceremoniously dumped by Pheu Thai.
Pheu Thai badly needs Move Forward’s votes for its prime ministerial nominee, to override the Senate’s objections, but it doesn’t want Move Forward to be in the coalition it is forming with a string of other political parties.
It was only a week ago that Pheu Thai formally ended its union with Move Forward, after failing to get enough support from other political parties to form a coalition. Political analysts and the media had described their alliance as a “forced marriage” from the start.
There is little in common between the two parties, except for their stand against the power clique that have ruled the country since the military coup in 2014. While Move Forward still does not waver on its stand, however, Pheu Thai is obviously making it secondary to political expediency.
Phumtham Wechayachai, a deputy leader of Pheu Thai, made it clear on Wednesday that his party is ready to shake hands with parties of all political stripes to end the current political deadlock – including those once vilified by both Pheu Thai and Move Forward.
“This is a new political paradigm that should bring to a close the political polarisation that has gripped the country for years,” Phumtham said.
That was the same message that Pheu Thai’s top executives delivered to their counterparts on Wednesday to solicit their support. Whether or not Move Forward is buying it is, however, still a big and open question.
Those from both parties attending the meeting declined to disclose what was discussed, besides describing it as a “listening session.”
“We listened to each other to get to understand the kind of situation we are in at the moment,” said Paetongtarn after the meeting, but she declined to say whether Move Forward agreed to vote for her party’s prime ministerial nominee.
Pita also kept his cards close to chest, refusing to give any hint of his party’s stand. “We listened to each other as professionals,” he said. “We will continue to coordinate. As of now, we have not agreed to anything.”
Many in Move Forward have come out strongly against supporting Pheu Thai’s ongoing political endeavours. They feel that their party has been betrayed by Pheu Thai, which is now seen as ready to form an alliance with political parties which were once their common political enemies.
“It would be unacceptable to Move Forward’s supporters if we give Pheu Thai our votes,” said Nattacha Boonchaiinsawat, a deputy secretary general of Move Forward.
The Fair party, a close ally of Move Forward, today declared that it will not vote for Pheu Thai’s prime ministerial nominee, if the coalition it is forming includes Palang Pracharath or United Thai Nation, the two parties in the outgoing Prayut government.
Pheu Thai leader Cholnan Srikaew today denied that the meeting with Move Forward on Wednesday was a political charade, as alleged by its critics. If he cared enough to listen to the voices on social media, and even among Pheu Thai’s supporters, however, he would know that the whole exercise is being seen as exactly that.
By Thepchai Yong
