Meeting at ex-PM Thaksin’s house to determine govt future

Political analysts believe that today’s meeting at former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s house will cover key issues, including his legal battle in the lese majeste case, and PM Srettha’s court case over a ministerial appointment, and will likely determine the future of the Pheu Thai-led government.

Scheduled to join the meeting at Chan Song Lar mansion in Bangkok's Bang Phlat district on Friday (June 7) are members of the Shinawatra family and Potjaman Na Pombejra (Damaphong), Thaksin’s ex-wife.

Although she and Thaksin have been divorced since 2008, Potjaman remains the key opinion leader in the ruling Pheu Thai Party, of which her youngest daughter Paetongtarn is the leader.

Analysts believe that the meeting will focus on Thaksin’s lese majeste case stemming from comments he made in an interview with South Korean media in 2015, while he was living in exile abroad after being ousted by a military coup in 2006.

The Office of the Attorney General announced on May 29 that the ex-premier will be charged with breaching Article 112 of the Penal Code, or the royal defamation law, and computer crime, for those comments.

Political gurus have predicted that Pheu Thai MPs would push for the draft of the amnesty law to pardon lese majeste offences to pass in Parliament when it resumes in July. The move would help get Thaksin, the party’s patriarch, out of hot water.

With the opposition Move Forward Party fighting its dissolution case based on the allegation that it tried to overthrow the constitutional monarchy during last year’s election campaign, analysts expect to see some of the party’s MPs eventually joining Pheu Thai and helping to push through the amnesty law.

Analysts also believe that the meeting on Friday will discuss the court case of PM Srettha Thavisin, who 40 senators are seeking to remove from the post of premier after he appointed former lawyer Pichit Chuenban, who once faced criminal charges related to bribery, as PM’s Office minister.

The senators’ petition, accepted by the Constitutional Court, claims that Srettha violated political ethics standards. The court ordered Srettha to submit a written defence on Monday (June 10).

Rumours have surfaced that Srettha’s replacements are already in talks. Among the short-listed candidates are Pirapan Salirathavibhaga, Deputy PM and Energy Minister who is the leader of Ruam Thai Sang Chart Party, and Chaikasem Nitisiri, Pheu Thai’s candidate, who is currently Srettha’s advisor.