Capt. Thamanat Prompow, the caretaker Agriculture Minister, has threatened to leave the Palang Pracharath Party after being excluded from the list of nominations for cabinet posts in the cabinet of newly elected Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra.
A conflict between the Palang Pracharath Party’s leader, Gen. Prawit Wongsuwon, and its secretary-general, Capt. Thamanat Prompow has thrown the party into disarray. He has threatened to leave the party with 29 other elected MPs.
The conflict arose over who in the party should be nominated for ministerial positions as new Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra is negotiating with coalition parties over cabinet postings.
According to party insiders, Capt Thamanat is angry that he was excluded from a cabinet postings list because of his jaded past.
Yesterday, Capt Thamanat held a press conference and threatened that he and a faction of 29 MPs would leave the Palang Pracharath Party. Capt Thamanat alleges he has sway over 29 of the 40 MPs in the Palang Pracharath Party. The coalition parties have more than 300 MPs in the 500-seat House.
The party insider claims that Capt Thamanat has been excluded from the list of cabinet nominations as he may be deemed unfit to hold a cabinet post due to his conviction and incarceration for a drug-related offense in Australia in the 1990s.
Pheu Thai Party lawyers worry that if Prime Minister Paetongtarn appoints Capt Thamanat to a cabinet post, she could face a petition seeking her dismissal, similar to her predecessor, Mr. Srettha. The Constitutional Court dissolved his premiership and cabinet for an ethics violation for appointing ex-convict Pichit Chuenban as a PM’s Office minister.
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