After the next election, Bhumjaithai’s growing poise and influence may be helping the party achieve its ultimate goal of capturing Pheu Thai as the party’s main opposition.
But, Anutin Charnvirakul, the Bhumjaithai president, may have his work cut out to show he is up to the job of prime secretary.
The second-largest and third-largest in the state, the third-largest party in parliament, has impressed some spectators with its maneuverability and astuacity.
In a nutshell, according to a social source, Bhumjaithai and Pheu Thai are slowly competing with one another in a bid to bolster their political stomp ahead of the upcoming election in three years, assuming the Paethongtarn administration survives that much.
Pheu Thai is working time to recover its support bottom after a nine-year break during two sequential Prayut Chan-o-cha governments.
In an effort to restore support that will enable vote victory in the district system, Pheu Thai is re-establishing connections with strong social scions in the provinces under the direction of former top Thaksin Shinawatra, who is now known as the party’s de facto leader and “mentor.”
The district program records for 400 of 500 House tickets. The remaining are gathering listing seats.
Pheu Thai predicts that if it can retake control of the seats in the constituency, it will defeat the People’s Party ( PP ) in the following election and become the largest party once more.
The chances of surpassing the 141 seats in the previous vote will be encouraging if Pheu Thai manages to rally the main significant families that are supporting it.
Not that there are n’t many red shirts left in stock these days, according to the source, noting that Pheu Thai has been having trouble gaining back support from its main ally, the red-shirt United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship ( UDD).
The UDD, after a formidable power up and down the land, was credited with handing Pheu Thai its resounding defeat in the 2011 vote that enabled Yingluck Shinawatra, Thaksin’s youngest girl, to become prime minister.
But after nine centuries under Gen Prayut, the UDD activity has lost power. The Move Forward Party ( MPF), which was disbanded by the Constitutional Court due to alleged attempts to subvert the constitutional monarchy, is now resurrected as the PP.
After the general election of last year, some red-shirt groups were unsatisfied with Pheu Thai’s choice to craft a coalition and switch from the MFP to the traditional camp.
There is no turning up for many former UDD people, according to the cause.
Nevertheless, the void left by the red tops in Pheu Thai’s help center may be filled by traditional supporters, according to the cause.
Although Pheu Thai has denied being a “neo-conservative” group, conventional components may come in handy as it tries to make up lost surface.
Pheu Thai may tap into some traditional voting strongholds as well as bolster its ability to win at least 200 chairs in the next vote without the UDD.
The PP, which has set its sights on obtaining enough votes to lead the nation alone, will encounter a difficult task of increasing its chair total by more than 100.
At the upcoming vote, traditional parties like Palang Pracharath and United Thai Nation are expected to fight. Furthermore, because they are after the same citizens, they are bound to challenge the same divisions, undermining one another.
Bhumjaithai could fit the bill much, according to the source, despite claims that Pheu Thai may appeal to conservative voters who want a practical party to oust the PP.
Basically, Bhumjaithai is likewise eyeing the same seats as Pheu Thai. In truth, both parties were competing for seats in numerous local elections in the past, and neither is about to concede any more.
Buri Ram and several other counties in the lower Northeast are Bhumjaithai’s social center, which it controls. In past elections in some of the South and some of the Central Plains Region divisions, it performed remarkably well.
Pathum Thani, Ayuthaya, and Lop Buri are all known to be targets for the party’s expansion of control.
The cause did warn that if Mr. Anutin and Thaksin re-join, it may erode the trust that traditional citizens may have in him.
A veteran politician, Mr. Anutin has been referred to as the party’s president, primarily because of Bhumjaithai’s unwavering support for the king.
Neoconservative voters should be wary of the Bhumjaithai head and where his loyalties lie because of the close ties Mr. Anutin has with Thaksin, who was recently charged with a stability guess charge in connection with an interview with a North Korean newspaper and who also once criticized the delayed privy council chairman Gen Prem Tinasulanonda.
No point fighting for a goal that has already been lost.
Sorawong: Mulls scrapping ethics act
According to experts, backing down was the only way to stop the Pheu Thai Party from implementing its policy amendment proposal, which incorporated the social standards of social politicians.
The ruling party lately submitted to congress a bill to change certain provisions of the 2017 law, including Area 160, which specifies the requirements for those seeking to serve as cabinet ministers.
Under this section, ministers must show evident honesty and refrain from committing any grave moral repression.
Some researchers speculated that the section’s removal from office, which included former prime minister Srettha Thavisin, could also be used against excellent secretary Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who had previously owned shares in Alpine Real Estate and Alpine Golf and Sports Club.
Experts believe that a threat still exists as a result of a 2017 court decision against previous Pheu Thai head Yongyuth Wichaidit despite Ms. Paetongtarn’s transfer of her shares in the company and some owned by the Shinawatra home prior to her appointment as prime minister.
The land in Pathum Thani’s Klong Luang district, where the golf club and residential complex is located, was donated by a widow, Noem Chamnanchartsakda, to Wat Dhammamikaramvoraviharn in Prachuap Khiri Khan back in 1971.
The Mahamongkut Ratchawittayalai Foundation, which was appointed as the executor of her estate, sold the plot to Alpine Real Estate and Alpine Golf and Sports Club after her passing.
By allowing the sale of monastic land in 2002 to make way for the Alpine Golf Club, the Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct cases ruled that Yongyuth abused his position while serving as the interior’s acting acting permanent secretary.
The Appeal Court upheld a two-year prison sentence that had been handed down by a lower court in 2019. In 2020, the Appeal Court denied Yongyuth’s bid to appeal the ruling.
Stithorn Thananithichot, director of the Office of Innovation for Democracy at the King Prajadhipok’s Institute, told the Bangkok Post that there was zero chance Pheu Thai’s attempt to amend ethics-related charter provisions would succeed.
According to Mr. Stithorn, the proposed changes “disrupt” political arrangements that former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is alleged to have made with the conservative camp in order to secure his return to Thailand.
Thaksin, widely perceived as the real leader of the ruling party, risks facing legal repercussions if he fails to honour the agreements he made, and Mr Srettha’s case is there to remind him, he noted.
The ruling party’s proposed amendment to Section 160, in his opinion, aims to limit the time period during which ethical breaches can be investigated after the 2017 charter is in effect.
Any violations of the controversial land plot would not be relevant and she would not be held accountable if Ms. Paetongtarn had any involvement in it.
In his view, however, there was no chance the proposed amendment to Section 160 would be approved by parliament.
Additionally, the coalition bloc’s strong opposition and senators from the so-called “blue faction” point out that the conservative camp was uneasy with Pheu Thai’s decision, according to the analyst.
They all expressed concern about a potential backlash from a move like this, since Section 160’s original purpose prohibited those from running for office. Additionally, amending this section could have been seen as self-serving.
Pheu Thai is rumored to have abandoned its charter amendment plan, even suggesting that the changes were taken at its own initiative.
According to Pheu Thai secretary-general Sorawong Thienthong, the main opposition People’s Party approached Pheu Thai to consider the matter and submitted a draft alongside their own following Mr Srettha’s dismissal.
The Constitutional Court in August removed him from office because of an ethical violation in his choice to appoint former convict as a cabinet minister.
So we discussed the situation and suggested six changes. We did n’t touch the fundamental framework of the constitution. We only introduced specifics for clarity”, Mr Sorawong said.
Because it has not yet been put on the agenda, he said, Pheu Thai is likely to withdraw the amendment bill that was presented to House Speaker Wan Muhamad Noor Matha.
” We did n’t anticipate any issues, but somehow, we are being isolated because we are the only party in the government bloc that proposed these amendments. So, we are now considering removing the bill for further review”, Mr Sorawong said.