Also fascinating is like what you said. PT has somehow been caught flat footed again. How?
This outcome was likely, or at the very least plausible. And yet once again, they've placed way too much faith in Thaksin's ability to make a deal with the establishment.
And now, they've also bungled in managing this crisis.
PT needs to hold their coalition together. This has to be done through assuring them that:
1. PT has the numbers
2. Chaikasem can actually be a leader
However, PT has only done #1, and not even convincingly. And it has ignored #2 altogether.
If they want to win the confidence of the remaining coalition partners, Chaikasem should be there in every meeting, leading the talks, and showing that he can command the room. You know, basic leadership stuff.
Instead, Phumtham is treating Chaikasem as a non factor. Once we have the numbers, we'll call him. How is this supposed to inspire any confidence?
Given this difficult dilemma for the People's Party, supporting BJT over PT is definitely the more sensible one.
Of those 2, BJT is much more likely to dissolve parliament in the agreed timeframe. In some degree, BJT would welcome an election — their numbers will only go up.
Meanwhile, PT will try to stay in power as long as possible. An election would only decimate their numbers.
In this time of rising nationalism, Bhumjaithai are surely confident about gaining seats, especially from PT in an election.
Thus their goals align more with PP. But would PP maintain or increase its share of seats if an election is held soon? The current leader is no orator compared to Pita, plus PP has been criticised by some as anti- military.
At the end of the day isn’t it quite simple; Taskin is just a liability who belongs to a different era and there won’t be another PT government until he finally does retire to spend time with his grandchildren.
If they've promised to call elections after four months, and also hold a constitutional referendum, does that mean the constitutional referendum will be held at the same time as the snap election?
Only a brief remark on whether PT really "betrayed" the MFP/PP: PT’s chairperson, Chonlanan Srikaew, emphasized after PT’s prime ministerial candidate, Srettha Tavisin, had been elected by the National Assembly on 22 August 2023, this was less a logical choice and more forced by the constitutional conditions. It was not—from PT’s perspective—a coalition pursuing a joint reformist political project against the conservative camp, as some had hoped. Without those institutional conditions, Chonlanan pointed out, there would have been no way that PT would have joined the MFP in trying to form a coalition government. Rather, as the party with the second-highest number of MPs, it would have competed with the MFP by trying to establish its own coalition government (Thai Rath and Khaosod online, 22 August 2023).
Also fascinating is like what you said. PT has somehow been caught flat footed again. How?
This outcome was likely, or at the very least plausible. And yet once again, they've placed way too much faith in Thaksin's ability to make a deal with the establishment.
And now, they've also bungled in managing this crisis.
PT needs to hold their coalition together. This has to be done through assuring them that:
1. PT has the numbers
2. Chaikasem can actually be a leader
However, PT has only done #1, and not even convincingly. And it has ignored #2 altogether.
If they want to win the confidence of the remaining coalition partners, Chaikasem should be there in every meeting, leading the talks, and showing that he can command the room. You know, basic leadership stuff.
Instead, Phumtham is treating Chaikasem as a non factor. Once we have the numbers, we'll call him. How is this supposed to inspire any confidence?
Given this difficult dilemma for the People's Party, supporting BJT over PT is definitely the more sensible one.
Of those 2, BJT is much more likely to dissolve parliament in the agreed timeframe. In some degree, BJT would welcome an election — their numbers will only go up.
Meanwhile, PT will try to stay in power as long as possible. An election would only decimate their numbers.
In this time of rising nationalism, Bhumjaithai are surely confident about gaining seats, especially from PT in an election.
Thus their goals align more with PP. But would PP maintain or increase its share of seats if an election is held soon? The current leader is no orator compared to Pita, plus PP has been criticised by some as anti- military.
At the end of the day isn’t it quite simple; Taskin is just a liability who belongs to a different era and there won’t be another PT government until he finally does retire to spend time with his grandchildren.
If they've promised to call elections after four months, and also hold a constitutional referendum, does that mean the constitutional referendum will be held at the same time as the snap election?
Only a brief remark on whether PT really "betrayed" the MFP/PP: PT’s chairperson, Chonlanan Srikaew, emphasized after PT’s prime ministerial candidate, Srettha Tavisin, had been elected by the National Assembly on 22 August 2023, this was less a logical choice and more forced by the constitutional conditions. It was not—from PT’s perspective—a coalition pursuing a joint reformist political project against the conservative camp, as some had hoped. Without those institutional conditions, Chonlanan pointed out, there would have been no way that PT would have joined the MFP in trying to form a coalition government. Rather, as the party with the second-highest number of MPs, it would have competed with the MFP by trying to establish its own coalition government (Thai Rath and Khaosod online, 22 August 2023).
However during the election campaign PT promised they would not join with the junta supporting parties post election.
However, they did, thus betraying their voters.