By Thai Newsroom Reporters
PRIME MINISTER SRETTHA Thavisin would ultimately choose to dissolve the House of Representatives and call a general election rather than resign if the Pheu Thai digital wallet campaign was eventually rejected at parliament, according to a partisan source.
Srettha has earlier confided to some of his personal associates that he would rather choose to dissolve the House instead of stepping down in face of possibility a legislation to find a sum of 500 billion baht in loan to finance the Pheu Thai populist handout campaign was eventually rejected by a majority of lawmakers, said the partisan source who only spoke on condition of anonymity.
Given the purported magnitude of the populist project pledged by the core coalition partner to the people nationwide during last year’s electoral campaign, the planned legislation is ultimately supposed to sail through both the executive and legislative branches otherwise the Pheu Thai-backed prime minister would merely opt out by dissolving the House so that a nationwide election may be held in 60 days.
Instead of resigning in the face of a possible fiasco over the contentious populist handout campaign, Srettha would rather return the power to the people, thus putting an end to the current Pheu Thai-led coalition government after less than a year in power following last year’s election.
Srettha who recently said he had unwavering intention to run the country until the end of the government’s four-year term had been surreptitiously promoted by deposed prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, sister of de facto Pheu Thai boss-cum-convict on parole Thaksin Shinawatra, in his first-ever venture into the political arena which turned him from a real estate mogul to head of a post-election government.
Nevertheless, many partisan members among the Pheu Thai rank and file would more or less anticipate some pressure mounting upon Srettha from the de facto party boss to the extent that he finally step down in case that the planned legislation to borrow the 500 billion baht loan either from domestic financial sources or foreign ones or both to finance the digital wallet campaign was rejected by majority lawmakers.
Thaksin would undoubtedly prefer that Srettha step down rather than dissolve the House as an aftermath of a possible legal fiasco over the digital wallet campaign, the source said.
Nevertheless, if Srettha eventually stepped down as largely speculated in the face of the possible abortion of the populist campaign, he would probably be replaced by Pheu Thai leader Paetongtarn Shinawatra, daughter of the de facto party boss, or Palang Pracharath leader Prawit Wongsuwan.
Srettha has earlier stated that the digital wallet handout campaign would not only promote domestic consumption and stimulate local economy in all parts of the country on a short-term basis but strengthen the national economy and boost the GDP in the long run.
The flagship Pheu Thai populist project is designed to hand out each Thai national aged 16 years and over a maximum of 10,000 baht in digital wallet to buy goods and services in the boundaries of their home district in a six-month period. However, the implementation of the handout campaign might probably be delayed beyond May. All 250 coup junta-appointed senators are scheduled to finish their five-year term in May.
Various senior government officials, academics and opposition MPs have invariably argued that the 10,000-baht digital wallet project could not much stimulate domestic consumption or boost the local or national economy on a sustainable basis whilst the Pheu Thai-led government’s financial and treasury discipline could be alarmingly compromised.
Some predicted that most recipients would rather spend the money given away under the campaign but would not follow on by purchasing anything out of their own pocket whilst others contended that inflation would considerably rise due to an ephemeral surge in domestic consumption.
CAPTION:
Top and Front Page: Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin. Both photos: Thai Rath
Insert: Pheu Thai leader Paetongtarn Shinawatra. Photo: Thai Rath
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