Independent agencies are working hard to drive caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra from her post, but military intervention is unlikely unless violence erupts nationwide, said PM's secretary-general Suranand Vejjajiva.
Speaking at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand on Wednesday night, Mr Suranand accused the Election Commission (EC) of not doing its job properly and the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) of trying to expedite Ms Yingluck's indictment.
"Certain institutions have resorted to arm-twisting legal action and other tactics to delay elections, and convince the public that the prime minister does not exist," Mr Suranand said.
He said forces were orchestrating the government's demise to help the People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC)'s cause. This could be seen in the Democrats' election boycott, and attempts by independent agencies to interfere.
“They are veering off the democratic path. An elected government should be thrown out of office by democratic means,” said Mr Suranand, who also served as a spokesman for the Prime Minister's Office during the two Thaksin administrations between 2001-2006.
He said the Pheu Thai Party has been playing by the rules. "We try to adhere to democratic principles but other players have been changing the rules all the time,” Mr Suranand said, referring to the post-coup situation where Thaksin-affiliated parties were dissolved and their leaders forced from office.
“We do not deny the government made blunders. There are unfortunate things the government has done — the amnesty bill was one of them. But we backed away from it after concerns were raised. When facing the subsequent problems, we dissolved parliament and returned power to the people,” said Mr Suranand.
He said Ms Yingluck was not receiving fair treatment, using the example of her NACC indictment for alleged dereliction of duty in the rice-pledging scheme. Ms Yingluck was given just 15 days to prepare her defence, he said, while former commerce minister Boonsong Trirayapiwat had 30 days to prepare for a similar charge in the same scheme.
While people were concerned whether the red shirts would mobilise supporters to counter the tactics of the independent agencies, Mr Suranand said the Pheu Thai Party was more concerned about military intervention.
“After all, no one owns or controls the red shirts, they have a life of their own. Of course, the reds have many shades, but the main body is still peaceful and Ms Yingluck is not worried about that. We believe the reds will stay calm and stage peaceful demonstrations,” Mr Suranand insisted.
He also noted some positive developments had occurred over the past months to maintain democracy, notably, the emergence of the white shirt and candle-lighting groups which did not support the Pheu Thai Party but wanted elections.
Fortunately, the military is showing restraint and is not being swayed or pressured into rolling out the tanks, said Mr Suranand.
He hopes the military will not resort to a coup unless there is a major and uncontrollable outbreak of violence nationwide. But even then Mr Suranand pointed out that Ms Yingluck, as caretaker defence minister, would still be in a position to declare martial law, if necessary.