Secretary-general says cabinet allocation not decided; two more small parties seek to join coalition
A senior Move Forward Party (MFP) executive has dismissed as untrue media reports that his party has been allocated so-called Grade A ministries, saying the issue has not been finalised.
Party secretary-general Chaithawat Tulathon, in his capacity as coordinator of the talks on the formation of a new government, was responding to a report that MFP list-MP Wiroj Lakkhanaadisorn would take the helm of the Interior Ministry, among other speculation.
“Such reports are untrue. When I heard about the reports, I felt shocked and stunned,” he said on Friday. “We are still in the process of thrashing out political platforms in the memorandum of understanding.”
So-called Grade A ministries are those with large budgets for procurement or activities such as construction, and have often been the sources of corruption in past governments.
Mr Chaithawat said the allocation of ministries had not yet finalised. Speculation about ministerial quotas would affect the negotiations among coalition partners and could cause misunderstandings, he said.
The media, he added, had gone too far in reporting speculation about who would be getting what ministries, as the issue had not been concluded.
The focus now is on finalising a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that will map out guidelines for collaboration. Details are scheduled to be disclosed on Monday, the day all the coalition partners will sign it, said Mr Chaithawat.
There were media reports on Friday that Phicharn Chaowapatanawong, a Move Forward deputy leader was coordinating with another small party to join the alliance, which now has eight parties.
Kritdithat Saengthayothin, a list-MP of the one-member New Party, has reportedly accepted the invitation to join the alliance, becoming the ninth party to join. This would give the MFP-led bloc 314 House seats.
The New Party on Friday posted on its Facebook page that its executives had resolved to join the alliance to form a new government unconditionally.
On Friday evening, Mr Phicharn said the Chartpattanakla Party, which has two seats, had also agreed to join the coalition, which would give the MFP-led bloc 316 seats.