By Thai Newsroom Reporters
BHUMJAITHAI LEADER Anutin Charnvirakul today (June 17) eased up his verbal insistence on his continuing to take charge of the interior portfolio and advised that the current Pheu Thai-led cabinet under Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra be subject sooner or later to a reshuffle of the whole deck which may invariably affect all coalition partners and not just the Pheu Thai, the core of the coalition, and the Bhumjaithai, the second largest coalition partner.
Anutin, who concurrently acts as deputy prime minister-cum-interior minister, suggested that all coalition partners led by the Pheu Thai hold fresh talks together to negotiate the reshuffling of the cabinet as a whole and to the extent that all cabinet portfolios may change hands in a new cabinet lineup speculated as soon as later this month.
The titular Bhumjaithai leader was apparently responding to the woman prime minister’s father/de facto Pheu Thai boss Thaksin Shinawatra’s evident design for the Pheu Thai to take control of the Ministry of Interior by replacing him with a prominent Pheu Thai figure in the approaching cabinet lineup.
Anutin has earlier threatened to manage to withdraw his ultra-conservative party from the Pheu Thai-led coalition government and become part of the opposition bloc only if such a political phenomenon occurred at any given time in spite of his dissent.
However, Paetongtarn was strongly suggested to reshuffle the entire cabinet rather than push for the planned takeover of the interior portfolio from the Bhumjaithai steered by de facto party boss Newin Chidchob.
Anutin has apparently softened his stand to remain in charge of the interior portfolio and called for the prime minister to hold a hush-hush meeting with all coalition partners in order to reshuffle the whole deck of her cabinet and put an end to the sustained tug-of-war between the Pheu Thai and Bhumjaithai once and for all.
Nevertheless, the prime minister categorically concluded that no formal agreement had been earlier made among the coalition partners to the extent that one would otherwise hold onto a certain portfolio as long as the Pheu Thai-led government is in power which may span a maximum of four years.
The woman prime minister declined to either confirm or deny news reports that the Pheu Thai pursuit of the interior portfolio had been initiated by her power-playing father who had earlier commented that the Pheu Thai-led government’s populist policies had been hardly implemented by the Ministry of Interior, thus failing to have “access” to the people throughout the country as long as the agency, known to be highly influential to the local authorities ranging from provincial governors and chief district officials to kamnan (tambon headmen) and puyaibaan (village headmen), is currently run by the Bhumjaithai.
CAPTION:
Bhumjaithai leader Anutin Charnvirakul talking to reporters today, above, and yesterday, Front Page. Photos: Thai Rath
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