Thailand’s two main opposition parties yesterday agreed to form a ruling coalition after they trounced in a weekend election military-backed rivals that have controlled government for nearly a decade.
The Move Forward party and opposition heavyweight Pheu Thai dominated Sunday’s ballot in a rout of army-backed parties, but could face challenges in mustering enough support to be voted in as prime minister, with parliamentary rules drafted by the military after a 2014 coup skewed in favor of its allies.
Their alliance would need to ensure its efforts to form a new government would not be stymied by a junta-appointed senate, which gets to vote on a prime minister in a bicameral sitting of the 750-member legislature, and has a record of favoring conservative parties led by generals.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Pita Limjaroenrat, Move Forward’s 42-year-old leader, proposed an alliance of six parties that would command 309 seats. That would be short of the 376 seats needed to ensure he is elected as prime minister.
Asked about the senate, he said all sides must respect the election outcome and there was no use going against it.
“I am not worried, but I am not careless,” he told a news conference.
“It will be quite a hefty price to pay if someone is thinking about debunking the election result or forming a minority government,” he said.
Pheu Thai, controlled by the billionaire Shinawatra family, said it agreed with Pita’s proposal and wished him luck in efforts to become prime minister.
The party had won most seats in every election this century, including twice in landslides, but met its match against Move Forward as it came close to a sweep of the capital, Bangkok, and made gains in rivals’ strongholds.
“Pheu Thai has no plan to form any other government,” party leader Chonlanan Srikaew told a news conference.
Although the results appear to be a hammer blow for the military and its allies, with parliamentary rules on their side and some influential power-brokers behind them, they could determine the shape of a new government.
Move Forward was galvanized by a wave of excitement among the youth over its liberal agenda and promises of bold changes, including breaking up monopolies and reforming a law on insulting the monarchy.
Pita yesterday did a victory lap in Bangkok where thousands of supporters had gathered — some in the streets, others on rooftops — dressed in Move Forward’s signature orange color and chanting “Prime Minister Pita.”
Pita has said Move Forward would press ahead with its plan to amend strict lese majeste laws against insulting the monarchy, which critics say have been used to stifle free speech.
Thailand’s palace does not comment on the law or its use.
The CIA has a message for Chinese government officials worried about their place in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) government: Come work with us. The agency released two Mandarin-language videos on social media on Thursday inviting disgruntled officials to contact the CIA. The recruitment videos posted on YouTube and X racked up more than 5 million views combined in their first day. The outreach comes as CIA Director John Ratcliffe has vowed to boost the agency’s use of intelligence from human sources and its focus on China, which has recently targeted US officials with its own espionage operations. The videos are “aimed at
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo on Friday expressed concern over the rate at which China is diversifying its military exercises, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Saturday. “The rates of change on the depth and breadth of their exercises is the one non-linear effect that I’ve seen in the last year that wakes me up at night or keeps me up at night,” Paparo was quoted by FT as saying while attending the annual Sedona Forum at the McCain Institute in Arizona. Paparo also expressed concern over the speed with which China was expanding its military. While the US
SHIFT: Taiwan’s better-than-expected first-quarter GDP and signs of weakness in the US have driven global capital back to emerging markets, the central bank head said The central bank yesterday blamed market speculation for the steep rise in the local currency, and urged exporters and financial institutions to stay calm and stop panic sell-offs to avoid hurting their own profitability. The nation’s top monetary policymaker said that it would step in, if necessary, to maintain order and stability in the foreign exchange market. The remarks came as the NT dollar yesterday closed up NT$0.919 to NT$30.145 against the US dollar in Taipei trading, after rising as high as NT$29.59 in intraday trading. The local currency has surged 5.85 percent against the greenback over the past two sessions, central
RSS