Infighting within Thailand’s new government prompts PM Prayuth Chan-ocha to warn against internal coup
- The back door deals within the coalition that helped the premier transition from military chief to civilian leader have erupted into internal squabbling
- Prayuth has apologised to the public for a delay in forming government, and analysts say the wait will negatively affect the kingdom’s economy
“I hope that everything will move forward to respond to people’s needs as the government of all Thais. This will be a beginning for a political reform by the government and its coalition so that politics will not get back to its old problem that might require the old, unwanted solution,” said a Monday statement by Prayuth.
The use of the phrase “old, unwanted solution” was interpreted as a reference to the May 2014 military coup led by Prayuth, then army chief, to end months of street protests and political gridlock.
Opposition parties were quick to condemn the comment as a threat. Pheu Thai spokeswoman Sunisa Lertpakawat asked: “Is he threatening the people that he will order the armed forces to seize power if he cannot endure political unrest?”
Is he threatening the people that he will order the armed forces to seize power if he cannot endure political unrest?
The infighting is being fuelled by an influential faction of three battle-hardy politicians known as the “three friends”, who are upset at how their “quota” in the cabinet has been reduced. The three men were once high-profile stalwarts of the Thai Rak Thai, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s party that won the 2001 election.
Earlier this week, the faction – which controls 30 members of parliament among Palang Pracharat’s 116 MPs – demanded the resignation of secretary general Sonthirat Sonthijirawong, saying he was bad at managing relationships within the party.