PUBLISHED : 10 Jan 2024 at 06:00
An attempt by a group of senators aiming for a new general debate on what they already view as the government’s failure to honour promises made upon taking office now appears uncertain as the group has yet to even garner the 84 of the 250 senatorial votes needed to request a debate.
Only 55 senators have so far signed their name in support of the general debate motion, allowed under Section 153 of the constitution to be submitted with support from at least one-third of Senate members, said a source.
The Senate is divided over the matter, according to Senator Wanchai Sornsiri, who said he numbers among those who believe it is too soon to criticise the government’s work.
Aside from those pushing for the debate and a few senators who have yet to voice an opinion, the majority opposing the motion is also made up of a core of soldiers-turned-senators who normally support whichever government is in power, some of whom have expressed no interest in getting involved in a move against the government, especially now the clock is ticking on what remains of their tenure.
Led by Senator Seree Suwanpanont and Senator Jadet Insawang, the group drumming up support for a general debate has outlined areas of work it is accusing the Srettha Thavisin administration of falling short on after only four months in office.
They claim the government has failed to deliver on promises to ease economic hardships, fix a broken judiciary and raise standards among rank-and-file police officers on the street.
The group also wants the government to continue modernising and fixing widespread problems with energy management and take steps to raise education standards after poor showings in several international education rankings.
Economic reform and the rewrite of the charter also need more scrutiny under the Srettha administration to ensure both are realised to the full extent of the promises made during the campaign last year in the run-up to the general election.
Prime Minister Srettha, meanwhile, said he is ready to respond to whatever questions he might be asked in a general debate.
“As a government must try to live up to expectations of 68 million Thais, this government takes every matter seriously, and it is our responsibility to listen and respond to any questions about our policies,” he said.