Former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva stated that no coalition party appears ready for an early general election and that these parties are still working to convince their supporters that they should be re-elected. As a result, it is anticipated that Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra’s administration will serve out the remainder of its three-year mandate.
He did, however, note that the coalition’s weak spot is the public’s waning trust in the Pheu Thai Party-led administration, which may get worse with any fresh bad news, such as wrongdoing, and might even trigger a full-blown crisis.
In response to a query concerning the likelihood that Paetongtarn, like her father Thaksin and aunt Yingluck, would be overthrown in a military takeover, Abhisit said that while her status as the third Shinawatra to head the government would not justify a coup, her style of leadership might.
“None of us wants to witness such issue [of a coup overthrowing a government] once more. Therefore, everyone should be satisfied if this administration is able to find a morally sound solution to the nation’s challenges.
Abhisit acknowledged that the Pheu Thai Party had achieved some victories that needed to have been included in the party’s fundamental objectives for future advancement, despite his long-standing competition with the latter.
It’s unfortunate that [Pheu Thai members] were unable to advance their party by building on their prior successes. Even worse, they were still unable to completely escape the grip of Shinawatra.
Abhisit realizes that there is a chance of making the same mistakes that once brought him down, even though Thaksin’s influence on the Pheu Thai-led administration would give his followers more confidence.
Thus, there’s a chance that history will repeat itself if Thaksin hasn’t learned anything from his previous blunders.
The 31st prime minister of the nation is facing several significant obstacles, according to independent scholar and former secretary-general of the Northeast Chamber of Commerce Thawisan Lonanurak.
It is expected that the 36 new Cabinet ministers would require more time to review than Pheu Thai and Paetongtarn had anticipated. The future of the new prime minister may be in doubt if even one of the ministers is subsequently shown to be ineligible.
Following the appointment of former criminal Pichit Chuenban as a PM’s Office minister, former prime minister Srettha Thavisin was ousted from office by a Constitutional Court verdict, which found him guilty of a significant ethical breach.
Thawisan emphasized that this time around, the Secretariat of the Cabinet and the Council of State must proceed with greater prudence.
Ministers in the Cabinet
There were also doubts raised about the potential Cabinet ministers’ general caliber. According to Thawisan, party quotas were used to make appointments rather than consideration for the qualifications of the applicants.
“It is simply wrong and depressing to see a policeman chosen to oversee education administration while an academic is appointed minister of agriculture and cooperatives.”
In addition, Thawisan criticized the decision to permit a political party group to join the new coalition in opposition to the party’s resolution, stating that it may erode the party’s institutional strength. He projected that additional factions will eventually do the same, ignoring their party’s resolutions and bargaining with MPs from other parties to obtain Cabinet seats.
According to Stithorn Thananithichot, head of King Prajadhipok’s Institute’s Office of Innovation for Democracy, Pheu Thai’s prospects in the upcoming national election and the coalition’s ability to serve out its full term would depend greatly on how well the new administration performs.
“The new government may not last long if the economy of the nation doesn’t improve at all by the end of this year.”
It is not anticipated that General Prawit Wongsuwon, the head of the Palang Pracharath Party, which was left out of the new administration, will be a direct danger. According to Thai media, Stithorn issued a warning that the PM may have a number of difficulties that might endanger her career and that Prawit might even turn against her if the Paetongtarn government does not improve its performance.