Order in the House
Play
The Democrats are entirely foolish to waste so much time complaining that Nikom Wairatpanich was unsuitable to chair the constitutional debate because he had sponsored the charter-amendment bill.
It gives Nikom too much credence on the subject. Since the government is acting under the instruction of the “Skype dictator”, it does not matter who chairs the meeting. Nikom chairing the meeting would in fact ensure that the government could not complain that their case for the amendment had not been fully explained.
On the other hand, if, at the end of the debate, the bias of the chair could be quantified, the Democrats would have cause for the bill to be booted out. Since there is no actual debate in the House, the bill will be spoken about for the allotted span and passed because Pheu Thai has no choice in the matter.
All the Democrats can do is provide the good arguments why the bill should not be accepted and hope to catch Pheu Thai out on a point of law (which is not a Pheu Thai strong trait). The more time the Democrats have to debate, the better their chance. They should not play into the hands of the government by wasting all the time on the nonsense performed yesterday.
RICHARD BOWLER
Bangkok
