The Democrat Party has not ruled out working with its arch-rival the Pheu Thai Party if it wins the next election and is in need of a coalition partner, according to Democrat secretary-general Juti Krairiksh.
In an exclusive interview with the Bangkok Post, Mr Juti said the party has set its sights on winning the poll, expected in February next year, and being the core party of the new government.
Mr Juti said the Democrats stand firm on their principle of working under the constitutional monarchy and implementing reforms. He added the party also opposes any conflicts that lead to bloodshed.
Commenting on the chances of Pheu Thai joining the Democrats in forming the next government, he said that if one looks at Pheu Thai's past, it might be difficult to do business with that party.
However, it would be another story if there was a change of guard in the Pheu Thai leadership, according to Mr Juti.
Juti: Could work with a 'new' Pheu Thai
"Let's not be too strongly attached to the past. Look to the future and the country can move forward," the Democrat secretary-general said.
Pheu Thai is reportedly searching for a replacement to acting leader Viroj Pao-in. It has been widely reported that party senior figure Khunying Sudarat Keyurapan is among the favourites for the top post.
She is a former deputy leader of the Thai Rak Thai Party which was founded by ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra. The party was dissolved by the Constitutional Court over electoral fraud in 2007.
Khunying Sudarat was among 111 party members who were subsequently banned from politics for five years.
Mr Juti said the Democrats are getting ready for the next poll and have potential candidates to run in constituencies who have met people on the ground and listened to their problems.
Many of the problems which the party has heard concern the flawed structure of the country's administration which must be tackled in a systematic approach, he said.
Mr Juti stressed that political reform has to be dealt with first, followed by bureaucratic and justice reforms.
He added that so many new faces have applied to be party members that it is struggling to find constituencies for all of them to contest. He was astonished to find so many people wanting to join the party.
Mr Juti said the new members also felt the primary vote -- where registered party members shortlist the party's MP candidates, one of whom will then be chosen to run under the party's banner in the election -- to be a fair system which guards against control or dominance of the party by its leader or secretary-general.
However, the Democrats' secretary-general downplayed the emergence of the Action Coalition of Thailand Party, co-founded by people with close links to the People's Democratic Reform Committee protest movement, which shares a pool of voters with the Democrats.
