Rifts in govt spokesmen's team coming to a head

Back then, skill suitability was cited as the reason for the move. Media personality Sansanee Nakphong was then recruited to take the job, as she was familiar to the general public. She would work under the guidance of PM’s secretary Suranand Vejjajiva.

Yet it did not solve the long-standing problem of staff not working as a unified team, with each of the three deputy spokesmen, coming from the quota of each coalition party, listening more to their own party boss than to the head spokeswoman herself.

And even the two spokesmen from the same Pheu Thai Party come from different camps. Anusorn Eiamsa-ard is from the red-shirt movement while Pakdeehan Himathongkam is supported by Pheu Thai legal adviser Noppadol Pattama. The third deputy spokesman, Chalitrat Chantru-baeksa, is from the Chart Pattana Party.

Too many cooks spoil the broth, and the situation is made worse with Suranand, the PM’s secretary, reigning over all three deputies. The three apparently do not pay attention to Suranand and see him as only having influence over Sansanee, the spokeswoman, as they have their own backing.

Both Suranand and Sansanee are aware of the difficult situation and have tried to “order” the three deputies to do things their way but with little or no success. This eventually led to the October 15 incident when, right after the Cabinet meeting ended, an order was given to lock up the rooms of the deputy spokesmen to prevent reporters from entering their rooms to get interviews or access to any documents.

The order was apparently given by Suranand because Sansanee was earlier heard complaining that reporters tend to prefer talking with the three deputies rather than the top spokeswoman.

The discord didn’t stop there. One of the three deputies said that during the Cabinet meeting, Sansanee cited Suranand as instructing all deputies not to reveal any information to the media, as some economic data had been leaked by one of the three deputies, although they don’t know which one.

In reality, such a document could have been leaked from other sources, such as a Cabinet member or even a senior bureaucrat.

The draconian move by Suranand has poisoned the team’s work environment and may lead to a decisive confrontation in the near future.

Nobody knows if there was any attempt to sow rifts and remove any of the three deputies, but the news about all these troubles and conflict have come from only one source.

Sansanee seems to be the most affected and she was in Kuwait with PM Yingluck when the issue was “leaked”. Sansanee was reportedly furious about the revelation. But her position is likely not to be affected as she seems to enjoy solid support from the all-powerful Suranand, who is likened to a “little prime minister” by observers.

But will all the deputies be spared from possible persecution? And what price will the simmering conflict exact on the government and the coalition?

We’ll have to wait and see, but not likely for long.