A marriage of convenience

A marriage of convenience

Although the United Thai Nation ( UTN) Party has maintained a somewhat low profile within the coalition government, this may soon change.

The third- largest coalition partner, along with the 71- seat Bhumjaithai Party and the Palang Pracharath Party ( PPRP ), with 40 MPs, hailed from the previous administration. The UTN takes pride in bringing the” DNA” of Gen. Prayut Chan-o-cha, a former premier and ex-coup leader, to her dissent.

The UTN, which has 36 MPs to its title, completely missed its election goal and was unable to re-establish Gen Prayut as prime minister for a second time.

Before last year’s general election, Gen Prayut made the bold determination to part ways with his respectable “brother” and democratic leader, Gen Prawit Wongsuwon, who led the PPRP, before proceeding to discovered and record the UTN as a party to challenge the poll.

Gen Prawit may have had a lot more political knowledge than Gen Prayut, but both came across as more sincere and sincere. A political scientist said Gen Prayut’s attitude and track record contributed to the UTN winning 36 MPs, which is not a bad thing given that it managed to come so far behind the more well-established PPRP.

However, neither party managed to gather enough political support to shape the fundamental components needed to form a government.

The Pheu Thai Party and the foundation events in the previous government’s coalition were seen more as a marriage of convenience than as a fusion of political conservative, according to the researcher.

Despite the fact that the Move Forward Party ( MPF ) won the election, Pheu Thai appears to have intended to be the ruling party. To realize its purpose of leading a robust bloc where the alliance partners mind their own company in pursuing their social interests, Phuket had no choice but to unite forces with Bhumjaithai, the UTN, and the PPRP. But frictions were bound to happen, and they did.

Shortly after the most recent cabinet change, Krisada Chinavicharana, the UTN’s deputy finance minister, resigned. He criticized Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira for appointing him to a single agency.

The other ministry departments were split up between Mr. Pichai and two other deputies, both of whom were Pheu Thai members, Paopoom Rojanasakul and Julapun Amornvivat.

When it was revealed that Mr. Krisada planned to submit his resignation as a UTN member, there were even more eyebrow raisers. Some critics also criticized UTN leader Pirapan Salirathavibhaga for allegedly not being vocal in his party’s call for fairer job distributions at the Finance Ministry.

Observers speculated that the government’s instability may have been brought on by individual coalition partners, particularly the UTN.

Despite being referred to by the party as Gen Prayut’s protégé, a source close to the matter claimed that Mr. Pirapan, who is also the deputy prime minister and energy minister, was not winning the hearts and minds of the rank and file of the UTN.

In the event that Mr. Pirapan’s position becomes vacant for any reason before the government’s term expires in just over three years, it has been speculated that he might be placed at the top of the list of prime ministerial candidates to replace Srettha Thavisin.

However, the source claimed that there has been a perception that Mr. Pirapan is a” square head” with a somewhat uncompromising stance and struggles to connect with UTN members.

Akanat Promphan, the party’s secretary-general, received much more praise for being approachable and charismatic than Promphan, who received much more praise. Through his active role in organizing the People’s Democratic Reform Committee’s mass protests from October 2013 to May 2014, Mr. Akanat has gained valuable experience in building relationships with people.

The coup was orchestrated by the National Council for Peace and Order and ended with the protests against the Pheu Thai-led administration with Yingluck Shinawatra as prime minister.

Prior to the cabinet shake-up, the source claimed that Mr. Akanat’s stature and level of respect for the party were obvious. Suchart Chomklin, a stalwart of the UTN, reportedly had to make an appointment to speak with Mr. Akanat before appointing him as deputy commerce minister.

Additionally, Mr. Akanat established close ties with several significant political parties in the South, all of whom are committed to the UTN.

At least two prominent politicians have since turned their back on the UTN, which has since shook it. List MP Pitcharat Laohapongchana has resigned as party director, and Supattanapong Punmeechaow, a former deputy prime minister during the Prayut administration, stepped down as a party member. Both were deemed to have kept the party running smoothly.

The UTN’s aspiration to become a political institution might come to an end if it does n’t get its act together and work to expand its holdings in the upcoming election, which is expected to be a much more difficult battle for the UTN and others in the conservative wing.

There’s still some work to do

The Pheu Thai Party lost so much ground in a recent opinion poll that it appeared as though a major defeat was likely to occur if a fresh election were to be held soon.

The ruling party was far behind the main opposition Move Forward Party ( MFP ) in the popularity survey conducted by the King Prajadhipok’s Institute, the Office for the Promotion of People’s Politics and the Centre for the Development of People’s Politics.

The MFP would likely win 208 House seats if the election were to take place in the next few days, compared to 151 it won last year, according to the KPI survey of 1,620 people.

According to the findings, Pheu Thai would only hold about 105 House seats if the polls were to take place in the near future, a significant decline from the 141 seats the party had won in the previous election, which is largely at the expense of its popularity.

In the same survey, MFP chief adviser and candidate for prime minister Pita Limjaroenrat was most likely to be the nation’s leader, comfortably occupying the top spot on the list of premier candidates with overwhelming support of 46.9 %.

With 8.7 %, Pheu Thai-backed Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin came in fourth place, far behind former prime minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, who came in second with 17.7 %, and Pheu Thai leader Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who received 10.5 %.

Mr. Srettha acknowledged the findings of the survey, blaming the Pheu Thai-led government for working harder and pushing for the implementation of its campaign pledges to recoup support.

The big win predicted by the survey also meant hard work ahead for the MFP, said Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, chairman of the Progressive Movement and leader of the MFP’s predecessor, the now- defunct Future Forward Party.

The MFP wants to win at least 250 House seats in the next polls to ensure that any attempt to stop the party from taking control will be futile after seeing its coalition bid crumble when Pheu Thai switched sides to join the conservative camp.

Pundits agree that securing 250 House seats, or half of those available, to form a single- party government is an uphill battle for any party.

In the current electoral system, the real battle is fought at the constituency level, where 400 seats are up for grabs.

Individual candidates are the key to winning constituency seats, and without strong and appealing candidates to challenge those created by political dynasties, newcomers do not have a chance, according to observers.

Despite its growing popularity, the MFP is no exception.

According to Stithorn Thananithichot, KPI’s director of the Office of Innovation for Democracy, although the MFP has gained more popularity, the survey indicates that the party’s support has spread out in constituencies where it already has a foothold.

” This means that the MFP will win again with more votes in the constituencies it has already won.” In the constituencies the party lost, the increased support is n’t enough to help it flip the election”, he said.

In light of this, Mr. Stithorn thinks that Pheu Thai’s current strategy of forming political dynasties and attracting red-shirt leaders to its ranks is probably the most effective strategy to fight the upcoming general election.

He was referring to several provinces where former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who is alleged to be the de facto leader of Pheu Thai, has been detained following his release from prison.

The visits are widely believed to be Thaksin’s attempt to rekindle old ties with political figures and red-shirt politicians in an effort to avert the MFP in the upcoming elections.

Thaksin’s latest trip was to Nakhon Ratchasima where he met Suwat Liptapanlop, advisory chairman of the Chart Pattana Party, and who he asked to join the Pheu Thai Party.

However, in Mr Stithorn’s view, such a strategy cannot reverse Pheu Thai’s political fortunes. The best chance of acing its campaign promises over the next three years is that the ruling party will be able to retain the 141 seats it currently holds in the next elections.

” Pheu Thai should accept the fact that its heyday is behind it and that the party will never win the most votes in the electoral process.

The only thing it can do is keep up its No. 2 status, the academic said,” to prevent the gap between the party and the MFP from growing.”