Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra will officially report for work at Government House in Bangkok for the first time next Monday, after the presentation of the government’s policies to parliament on Thursday and Friday.
Currently, she is working from an office in the Shinawatra 3 Building on Vibhavadi Rangsit highway.
The new prime minister has ordered a re-decoration of her official office in Government House, which includes the change of carpets and curtains, which are reportedly worn out.
The prime minister has also arranged for a work desk from home to be moved to her office to replace the one used by her predecessor, Srettha Thavisin. It is reported that the desk will be positioned facing the Banchakarn Building, instead of the Santi Maitree Building as was the case with the desk used by Srettha.
Before moving into her re-decorated office, the prime minister will lead her deputy prime ministers and her Office minister to pay respects to the Phra Phrom shrine, at the Thai Khu Fah Building, and other spirit houses on the compound.
Meanwhile, government, opposition and Senate whips agreed today that the debate on the government’s policy statement will last a maximum of 29 hours, with six hours for the cabinet, four and a half hours each for the Senate and government MPs, 13 hours for opposition MPs and one hour for the parliament president to speak.
Opposition chief whip Pakornwut Udompipatsakul said today that he has no idea whether Palang Pracharath MPs will take part in the debate, as the party is yet to request a time allocation.
The Palang Pracharath party currently is split into two factions, with one, led by Thammanat Prompao, joining the Pheu Thai-led government, while the other, led by party leader General Prawit Wongsuwan, is yet to make public whether it is aligned with the opposition or the government.
