Surin Pitsuwan, former Asean secretary-general, has denied a press report he intends running for leadership of the Democrat Party, nurtured by an ambition to be prime minister.
The seven-time Democrat MP for Nakhon Si Thammarat said the report at Thai Rath Online was baseless.
The website carried a report earlier on Friday, picked up by other media outlets, that Mr Surin had looked at contesting the party leadership. Taking the party leader's post would take him a step closer to vying for the prime ministerial seat.
Mr Surin admitted he had a conversation with the reporter who ran the story at a tea shop in Nakhon Si Thammarat. However, he insisted he never spoke of a desire to give Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva a run for his money.
Mr Surin said the reporter met him by chance. After publishing the story, the reporter conceded he had jumped the gun as he had personally wanted Mr Surin to lead the Democrats.
Mr Surin said he told the reporter that would not be possible as parties are currently barred from convening meetings to begin the process of selecting a leader.
Also, it would be premature to talk about a party leadership contest as the charter is still being drafted.
He would not stand for party leadership without consulting senior party figures.
He also told the reporter that anyone aspiring to lead the party must be willing to stand. However, he said he is not an active member and rarely plays any role in the party.
Speaking before Mr Surin issued his clarification, Mr Abhisit said he should "expand" on what he meant, adding his term as party leader lasts until 2018.