Thamanat breaks from Prawit, leads 29 MPs in coalition bid

Caretaker Agriculture Minister Thamanat Propow announced on Tuesday that he was separating from the Phalang Pracharath Party
(PPP) leader General Prawit Wongsuwan and that he and his group will compete with Prawit in forming a coalition with Pheu Thai. Thamanat is also PPP’s secretary general.

At a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, Thamanat said his group commanded some 29 MPs and was now part of the coalition, not Prawit’s faction. PPP commands 40 MPs.

The caretaker minister called the press conference after Prawit told reporters that the four Cabinet seats allocated to PPP would not include Thamanat.

Earlier in the day, Thamanat told the press corps at Government House that he would declare his independence because Prawit had disappointed him.

Thamanat was joined by 22 MPs at the press conference and said seven more would travel to the capital to declare their support. He indicated that he would not be included in the next Cabinet line-up and that he would respect the decision of PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra.

Paetongtarn has told coalition partners to screen their Cabinet nominees and leave out those who have a questionable background. Thamanat was sentenced to six years in prison in Australia over drug smuggling charges in 1994 and deported to Thailand after spending four years in jail.

“This is not a press conference, but a chance for people to show me moral support,” Thamanat said at the start of the meeting. “I affirm my stand and will continue to work for people.”

He said he was hurt, but stopped short of mentioning Prawit’s name. He also pointed out that he had been working for the party for six years and had taken charge of PPP’s campaign in the North for the 2019 general election.

Thamanat said his group of 29 rebel MPs would continue working under PPP’s banner until the party’s executive board decides to expel them. “If not, we’ll continue to stay there [at the PPP],” Thamanat said.

Manoeuvring for power and PPP’s quota of four Cabinet seats has been going on for several days since before the Constitutional Court ruled to remove former prime minister Srettha Thavisin last week, party sources said.

The sources said a group of MPs loyal to Thamanat and another group loyal to deputy leader Santi Promphat had initially planned to stage a coup against Prawit.

But after the court made the ruling and it became likely that Thamanat would be left out of the new Cabinet, Santi’s group did an about-turn and began supporting Prawit. This emboldened the party leader to propose himself in place of Thamanat in the next Cabinet.
Sources said Thamanat was infuriated by Prawit’s decision to put himself forward for the job instead of nominating Thamanat’s younger brother for the Cabinet post.

After Santi realised that Thamanat’s group was bigger than Prawit’s, he changed sides, the sources added. This prompted Thamanat to hold the press conference as a show of force against Prawit.

“Standing here with me are 22 MPs and seven more who are travelling, as partners of the coalition government. We won’t speak for those who are not here,” Thamanat told the press conference. “Let me put it this way, we, who are standing here, are part of the government.”

He said that his supporters from several provinces, including Kampheng Phet, Phetchabun, Phayao, Chonburi, Roi Et and Chiang Mai had come to show him moral support after learning of his fate. 

Thamanat added that he did not want to quarrel with anyone in the party, but had learned that certain persons were trying to drive a wedge into the PPP, which he had co-founded.

When asked again and again by reporters about the chance of him being included in the Cabinet, Thamanat said he had to respect the government leader’s decision.

After Thamanat held the press conference, Prawit dropped his plan to hold a party meeting to discuss PPP’s quota of four Cabinet seats and headed home. Several of his MP supporters followed him to his house, which also serves as the Foundation for the Conservation of Forests in Five Adjoining Provinces.