NEWS THINK
PRADIT RUANGDIT
Well done
Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and wife, Khunying Potjaman, kiss their youngest daughter Paetongtarn on her graduation day, with their other children Panthongtae, left, and Pinthongta, right, looking on. Paetongtarn graduated with a bachelor's degree from Chulalongkorn University's political science faculty. Security was tight for the family. |
It would be wise and politically tactful if Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej were to call it a day now and put the struggling government out of its misery. One after another, Mr Samak has lost cabinet ministers to legal wrangles and the government is having a very tough time keeping its head above water.
Jakrapob Penkair quit as PM's office minister after he was charged with lese majeste. Chaiya Sasomsab was stripped of his public health portfolio because his wife held more shares than the law allowed.
And yesterday, Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama bowed out under duress over the Preah Vihear temple saga.
The government could be heading down a one-way street to political deadlock.
Some People Power party (PPP) MPs have suggested Mr Samak disband parliament, as calling a quick general election would be the best way for the PPP to stop its popularity from sliding further.
But many in the PPP, as well as those in the coalition parties, have poured cold water over the House dissolution idea. Elections cost a lot of money and the parties have only been in government barely six months.
Mr Samak scoffs at the dissolution suggestion and does not wish to step down as prime minister either, despite the sensibility of the latter option.
He has been impervious to demands for his resignation over what many see as a gross mishandling of national policies over the Preah Vihear controversy.
But a resignation would set in motion a process in parliament to elect a new prime minister. With the PPP still firmly in control of the House with its majority, he could be back at the helm because there is no one in the PPP more suited to the job than him.
It is believed the ''string-pulling boss'' behind the PPP remains determined to keep the party in government and Mr Samak in the prime minister's seat.
The PPP members want to have someone they can hang on to and depend on rather than being thrust into another election too soon.
Also, the government cannot afford to disintegrate now when it could resume applying the momentum for the charter amendment. The PPP would also want to be in a favourable position to fight a party dissolution trial. The Election Commission is deciding whether it should dissolve the PPP for possibly knowing about Mr Yongyuth's vote buying.
PPP insiders feel the government must sit tight with Mr Samak continuing in command if the ruling party is to resolve its predicament.
If he resigned and was voted back into the prime minister's job, he could then design a better cabinet line-up, picking more competent choices for ministers than those appointed when he first became prime minister.
A second shot at the top job could give Mr Samak a stronger influence over the PPP. It is widely known Mr Samak did not have much say in appointing the cabinet ministers, who largely represent factions in coalition parties bound by the strict ministerial quota system.
His resignation may also bode well for the unity of the coalition partners. If he was voted back in, the coalition parties would be confident in sticking to the pact, knowing there will not be major changes in the composition of government parties down the road.
Mr Samak could also make up for some lost ground in his credibility if he exited the top post now. If he comes back to the job later, he will need to show real commitment in straightening out the ''policies gone wrong'' by naming new faces to the cabinet.
The parliament is worth every effort to protect from dissolution now that the country needs it most to solve all sorts of problems.
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