Noted orators join Cabinet ahead of debate

She has brought into her third Cabinet three rhetoricians who are noted for their skill in disrupting opposition debates.
They are Deputy Agriculture Minister Yuttapong Charasathien, Deputy Interior Minister Pracha Prasopdee and Deputy Public Health Minister Cholnan Srikaew.
These new faces in the Cabinet are known to be good at speaking in the House and their frequent efforts to counter opposition attacks have earned them the title of protectors of the ruling party in Parliament.
Their inclusion on the Cabinet bench should cover Yingluck’s main weakness, which was clearly manifested during the past year. That is, she always tries to avoid debates in the House, particularly answering opposition MPs’ questions.
And the upcoming no-confidence debate will be her first major showdown with the opposition in the House.
Yingluck is seen as sending the three key government protectors to sit on the Cabinet to assist their colleagues in dealing with Parliament. Of course, their urgent mission will be to handle the no-confidence debate.
Yingluck also made preparations by moving Natthawut Saikua from deputy agriculture minister to deputy commerce minister.
This was seen as an effort to plug a hole at the Commerce Ministry, as Minister Boonsong Teriyapirom is expected to be a prime censure target because of the controversial rice-pledging scheme. Earlier, Boonsong failed to deliver satisfactory explanations about the project and caused the government to find itself in trouble because of the project.
During the censure face-off, Yingluck will also be backed up by veteran politicians who are skilled at the games played inside the House. They are Deputy Prime Ministers Chalerm Yoobamrung and Surapong Towichukchaikul.
Even chief opposition whip Jurin Laksanawisit has admitted that Yingluck has raised her guard high with the Cabinet reshuffle. Jurin said the Cabinet changes would affect the game plan for the censure debate, especially the attack on the rice-pledging scheme. Jurin saw the new line-up as aimed at dealing with the debate.
Anyway, the opposition has no choice but to go ahead with holding the censure debate because they had delayed it until the end of this parliamentary session, which is due to be adjourned on November 28.
Jurin said the opposition would submit the no-confidence motion on November 9 and the opposition whips have reached an agreement with their government counterparts to hold the debate from November 25-26, with a possible extension to November 27 if needed.
The opposition has not yet disclosed details of its censure strategy but it has two major options.
It could limit its target to only the premier. If the majority of MPs casts a vote of no-confidence against Yingluck, she and her Cabinet will be ousted, so the opposition will have to nominate its choice of prime minister, which will of course be Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva.
But the opposition is unlikely to take this direction because the Democrats may not receive support from its opposition partners. At least some Bhum Jai Thai MPs are expected to side with the government.
The Democrats will likely target individual ministers. In this option, the Democrats would highlight alleged corruption and violations of the Constitution to back the impeachment motions against the prime minister and other censure targets.
Highlights of the debate are likely to be the rice subsidy scheme and the Bt470-billion budget for comprehensive flood prevention measures under the oversight of Deputy Prime Minister Plodprasob Surassawadi. Both issues have been allegedly tainted by graft.
And Natthawut may be attacked for failing to shore up prices of crops when he was deputy agriculture minister, while Surapong, who stays on as foreign minister, may also be grilled for returning a passport to former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
In any option, the Democrats would link the debate to Yingluck to try to hit her hard.
But with the ministers acting as her bodyguards, Yingluck could feel somewhat relieved and could focus on her work.
That’s why she has planned long trips out of the country before the debate. She will leave for Laos for the Asia-Europe Meeting from November 5-6, then to Bali for the Bali Democracy Forum on November 8-9 before paying an official visit to the UK from November 12-14. Finally, she will be away in Cambodia for the Asean Summit from November 17-20.
It will be known at the end of the month whether she can finally find some relief.