Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin yesterday insisted that the surprise resignation of Krisada Chinavicharana, a United Thai Nation Party member, as deputy finance minister will not impact the coalition's work, saying the post still belongs to the UTN.
The PM, however, said he has yet to see Mr Krisada's resignation letter, which will immediately take effect as soon as it is received by the Secretariat of the Prime Minister.
Asked whether he has spoken with UTN leader Pirapan Salirathavibhaga about Mr Krisada's resignation, Mr Srettha said he hasn't spoken with anyone from the UTN, but the matter will be discussed during the next cabinet meeting.
Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat said he had no idea why Mr Krisada quit the post.
He said he hadn't had the chance to ask Mr Krisada about the resignation.
No matter the reason, Mr Krisada's judgement and decision about the matter will be respected, he said.
Defence Minister Sutin Klungsang said he strongly believes the PM will be able to find a replacement for Mr Krisada, in case he fails to convince the latter to reverse his decision.
As far as he was concerned, Mr Sutin said, the PM would likely invite Mr Krisada in for a discussion first.
Mr Krisada's resignation follows the surprise resignation of Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara as foreign affairs minister, which came shortly after he learned that he had lost his deputy prime minister's position in the recent cabinet reshuffle.
Unlike in the case of an entire coalition party leaving the bloc, these two resignations were instead personal matters that didn't impact the coalition's stability and strong unity, said Mr Sutin.
However, these resignations should never have occurred in the first place, he added.
Mr Sutin said he was still optimistic that the matter could still be resolved inside the UTN, as it didn't appear to have become a conflict between two coalition parties.