On Tuesday, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha conveyed his doubts regarding his prospects of coming back to power for another term.
Addressing the media queries concerning his political future, Gen Prayut made his comments while the Move Forward Party-led alliance strives to form a fresh coalition government.
He amusingly responded to journalists’ questions about his potential nomination for the prime minister role by minor parties if the top contenders in the general election struggle to form a coalition government.
“Don’t think that far ahead,” was Gen Prayut’s reply.
Gen Prayut, chief strategist of the United Thai Nation Party (UTN), clarified that he wasn’t involved in the feasibility of the planned coalition and his main focus was on the incumbent caretaker government.
After the change of power, he confidently expressed that he had no fear of being investigated.
The Bhumjaithai party’s leader, Anutin Charnvirakul, denied any discussion or agreement with deposed former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, amid rumours of a “secret deal” after the May 14 election.
He firmly maintained that his recent encounter with Srettha Thavisin, one of the three prime ministerial candidates of Pheu Thai, during a football match in the UK, was completely unrelated to politics.
Last week, an image of the duo started making rounds after ex-massage parlour tycoon Chuvit Kamolvisit posted on Facebook about their supposed covert negotiations in case MFP couldn’t secure a majority of the House seats necessary to constitute a government.
As per Mr Chuvit, the covert agreement was labelled “come home”, pointing towards Thaksin, who had recently revealed his plans to come back to Thailand in the following month.
Mr Anutin maintained that Bhumjaithai has always believed that the election victor should lead any efforts to put together a coalition government, when questioned about the potential formation of an MFP-led coalition.
He refrained from commenting on the potential of an opposing group creating a counter coalition, stating that the incumbent caretaker government would strive to perform its duties while maintaining political decorum until the new government takes charge.
When questioned about the party’s stance on the Prime Minister vote, the Bhumjaithai leader affirmed the party’s consistency, specifically if their MPs would back MFP leader Pita Limjaroenrat for the prime ministerial position.
On being asked if the party had evaluated the political scenario, he mentioned that they were awaiting the official endorsement of the election outcomes by the Election Commission.
