PM promises major reshuffle of cabinet
PRADIT RUANGDIT
Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej will press ahead with plans to rewrite the coup-sponsored constitution, setting the scene for further political confrontation.
Opponents are promising to step up their protests and promise a long battle ahead unless the government changes its mind.
Despite the political risks, Mr Samak says the government is determined to press ahead with changes to the charter, and will also reshuffle cabinet to improve its performance.
He says the likely cabinet line-up should be clearer once the status of three ministers involved in the two- and three-digit lottery case becomes known.
Speaking during his weekly national broadcast yesterday, Mr Samak said the government will table a motion to amend the charter as soon as parliament convenes its next meeting.
The focus of the amendment will be the second paragraph of Article 237, which says a party can be dissolved if its executive members are found guilty of electoral fraud.
The People Power party-led government has said all along it intends to amend the constitution, which it believes is flawed and problematic.
Strong resistance from the anti-government People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) to the charter rewrite effort forced the government to hold back for a time.
Since then, the government has come under siege, with one cabinet member after another being forced out of office.
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.
Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama recently resigned under pressure over the Preah Vihear temple controversy.
The entire cabinet is facing impeachment proceedings from the Democrats, the PAD and some senators.
The PPP is also reaching a political impasse after the Supreme Court upheld the Election Commission's decision to red-card its former deputy leader Yongyuth Tiyapairat for violating election law.
The prime minister criticised Article 237, saying it was the bane of politicians.
Running the government would have been simple if the article did not exist, he said.
It was unfair that all party executives be punished because one executive was found guilty.
Mr Samak said the drafters wrote the charter out of malice, in the hope of getting back at people who served in the Thaksin government.
Mr Samak said the make-up of the new cabinet should be clear after this week.
''I will do it. But I will have to wait until those three [existing ministers] are judged. I have to consider their qualifications. I am also eyeing quality people like Trairong Suwannakhiri [from the Democrats],'' Mr Samak said.
If the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions decides to accept the lottery scandal case for consideration, the three ministers _ Finance Minister Surapong Suebwonglee, Labour Minister Uraiwan Thienthong and Deputy Transport Minister Anurak Jureemart _ involved in the Thaksin Shinawatra cabinet which introduced the scheme, must step aside. The court will rule on July 28.
But Mr Samak admitted that capable people are reluctant to join cabinet out of concern they may not be able to work their full tenure.
He said the government will go on air on the TV pool tomorrow to tell the public what it has achieved in five months and what it will do.
Democrat spokesman Ong-art Klampaibul said the government is running out of time and the reshuffle may come too late. ''The government is in a predicament where it has power but cannot rule. The actions of some cabinet members have backfired on them,'' he said.
The government was pursuing self-interest in wanting to rewrite the charter.
It could lead to a political crisis and would face strong opposition from the public. The charter was not the problem. The real issue was that the government wanted to run the country in a way that violated its provisions.
PAD's core leaders, meanwhile, said their anti-government rallies will continue until the government gives up its effort to amend the charter.
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