Thamanat to hold urgent press conference Tuesday afternoon

Palang Pracharath Party (PPP) secretary-general Thamanat Prompow will hold a press conference Tuesday afternoon in which he is expected to renounce loyalty to PPP leader Gen Prawit Wongsuwan .

Thamanat informed reporters that he would hold a press conference at the Agriculture Ministry at 2 pm.

The press conference follows Prawit insistence that the PPP would remain a partner of the Pheu Thai-led coalition but Thamanat would not be among the PPP ministers in the new cabinet of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra.

Prawit announced his stand after it was reported that Paetongtarn’s father, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, wanted Thamanat to revolt against Prawit by leading the majority PPP MPs to support the Pheu Thai-led government in exchange for the same quota of Cabinet seats and that Prawit’s brother, Pol Gen Patcharawat Wongsuwan, would be left out of the Cabinet.

Observers expect Thamanat to declare that there is no love lost between himself and Prawit because instead of making the announcement at the PPP head office, he has chosen the Agriculture Ministry as the press conference venue. Thamanat is the caretaker agriculture minister.

It is reported that Thamanat has fewer than 20 MPs under his control not counting those under the command of deputy PPP leader Santi Promphat.

It is uncertain if Santi’s faction will support Thamanat this time.
If, after the press conference, Prawit orders the PPP executive board to expel Thamanat and his MPs from the party, they would join the Kla Tham Party.

If no expulsion takes place, Thamanat would remain as the leader of the rebel faction and would approach Pheu Thai for the quota of Cabinet seats in lieu of Prawit’s faction.