By Thai Newsroom Reporters
THE SENSATIONAL PHENOMENON in which the Democrats jumped onto the Pheu Thai government bandwagon was critically hurting sentiment of members and supporters of the country’s oldest party, past and present, concluded former prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva over the weekend.
Abhisit, a former Democrat leader, said such power play on the part of the Democrats was not a surprise to him but was critically hurting sentiment of many partisan members as well as supporters nationwide.
The historic event in which the Democrats headed by party leader Chalermchai Sri-on willfully joined the current coalition led by the otherwise archrivals Pheu Thai would inarguably render an unfavourable effect on future electoral campaigns of the Democrats throughout the country, Abhisit forecast.
The former prime minister contended that the Democrats had ostensibly thrived on their political ideologies since the last several decades and definitely not on the power play staged by the party’s current executive members.
“The Democrats had been long reputed and widely recognised for our ideologies regardless of whether or not we may have been part of a government…..Unconditionally becoming a coalition partner did not necessarily mean we would be able to maintain our ideologies,” the former prime minister said.
Abhisit made his comments amidst disappointment, frustration and concern blatantly expressed by Democrat members and supporters on social media almost immediately after 21 out of a total 25 Democrat MPs had eagerly jumped onto the Pheu Thai bandwagon.
That Chalermchai and most Democrat MPs apparently took for granted that being part of government, albeit headed by the former archenemies, could finally promote their partisan popularity, given concrete performance in the course of the people’s interests, was a sheer fallacy, according to the former Democrat leader.
Abhisit pointed out that the Democrats had joined a previous Palang Pracharath-led government under former coup leader-turned-prime minister Prayut Chan-o-cha following 2019’s election but had come out with a sharp decline in the number of MPs in last year’s race to parliament.
That referred to 52 Democrat MPs elected in the former election, compared to 25 in the latter whilst critics predicted that less than 10 Democrats will be voted MPs in the next nationwide election.
In the latest Pheu Thai-led cabinet under Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, daughter of de facto Pheu Thai boss Thaksin Shinawatra, the current Democrat leader was named natural resources & environment minister whilst Democrat secretary-general Det-it Khaothong was named deputy public health minister.
CAPTION:
Top and Front Page: Former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. Both photos: Thai Rath
Also read: Democrat entry into Pheu Thai-led govt ends 23 years of mutual antagonism
New Pheu Thai-led govt not starting to work until mid-September
New lineup of Pheu Thai-led Cabinet members completed
Ang Thong, Ayutthaya residents get flood warning
Spanish actor’s son jailed for life for grisly island murder
