Priewpan decision to enter politics not a big surprise
Former police chief is not expected to take position of party leader
The decision of former police chief Priewpan Damapong to enter politics by applying to become a member of the ruling Pheu Thai Party is no major surprise, as he is a member of the Shinawatra political clan.
Priewpan is the elder brother of Khunying Potjaman Na Pombejra, who is the ex-wife of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
It has been talked about for some time, since he held the top position in the Royal Thai Police, that he would one day be a deputy premier in Yingluck Shinawatra’s administration. Priewpan has never been shy when asked about his political future, and has admitted an interest in anti-narcotics work in the government.
Yingluck already has many deputies, but Priewpan will likely be made her most senior deputy PM, replacing Yongyuth Wichai-dit, who stepped down recently.
It is important for the Shinawatra clan to have any of the inner members of the family sit in the Cabinet next to the prime minister, in order to minimise damage in the event of a political emergency and Yingluck needing to step down.
Following Yongyuth’s resignation, the most senior deputy prime minister is now Chalerm Yoobamrung, who would be acting prime minister whenever Yingluck was away or if she had to leave office. Chalerm is fine, but it’s better for Thaksin to have someone from inside the family like Priewpan to take care of the job.
However, Priewpan is not currently qualified to take the top job at Government House as he is not a member of Parliament. That’s why he needed to apply to become a member of the Pheu Thai Party. He needs to run in an election in order to have a seat in Parliament, which would qualify him to serve as a deputy PM.
Would he take the position of party leader? No, he wouldn’t. Shinawatra’s political style is not to place a key person into a risky position like that of the executive leader of the party. The former premier has good experience in this respect, after two of his political parties were dissolved and executive members were banned from holding political office for five years.
Priewpan said yesterday that he would not take the position of Pheu Thai party leader. “Forget it, if there is anybody proposing my name for the position, I will withdraw,” he said. “I’m not ready for the position as I have no political experience, but counter-narcotics is a job that interests me.”
He entered politics in order to have a chance to work in narcotics suppression, he said. Priewpan is currently an adviser to the Counter Narcotic Bureau’s commander, Chaiwat Chotima.
Asked if he would be named a deputy prime minister, Priewpan said: “That’s just hearsay. Being police chief is the top of my career, and I don’t expect anything more.”
Priewpan said he was joining the Pheu Thai Party because of his friends, not Thaksin, Potjaman or Yingluck. “I have not talked with Thaksin directly for a long time but just conveyed messages through relatives, and I talk to Potjaman usually as brother and sister,” he added.
Yingluck said it was good to have Priewpan as a member of Pheu Thai as the party would now have another experienced member to serve the people. Asked if he would get any position in the government, the PM said it depended on the executive board of the party, but she had no plan to reshuffle the Cabinet in the near future.
So, let’s follow the new face from the Shinawatra clan in the political arena. How far can he go, and will another family member eventually reach the top position in the executive branch?
