The new-look coalition government will begin working towards implementing its policies, including the digital money handout scheme, in a fortnight, said caretaker Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai yesterday.
He avoided saying, however, when exactly the revised cabinet line-up will be submitted for royal endorsement. He said he believed nominations by all coalition parties had already been examined by state organisations concerned and forwarded to the Secretariat of the Cabinet (SoC) and the Council of State (CoS), the government's legal arm, for final review.
Mr Phumtham said the SoC and the Cos now decide when to proceed with the process. He affirmed his previous remark that all processes required before the government could take office should be completed within 15 days, with a three-day grace period before and after.
"What most people are looking forward to is the government starting to solve problems while maintaining unity among coalition partners," said Mr Phumtham, citing a recent opinion survey. As the caretaker deputy prime minister, he said he looked forward to seeing the new government endorsed and working as soon as possible.
Responding to rumours that the digital wallet handout scheme might eventually be excluded from the policy statement which the government will deliver in parliament, Mr Phumtham said the scheme, an economic stimulus policy, would continue.
On Friday, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said the new cabinet lineup was almost ready to go, pending verification of the nominees' qualifications. This process should take about a week to finish, she said.
"Will the list be submitted for royal endorsement next week? Well, as soon as the parties verifying it say so and send it back to us, we will try our best to get that done as fast as possible," she said. The PM also responded to questions about why her Pheu Thai Party resolved not to include the Palang Pracharath Party in the new cabinet, saying there were a number of reasons behind that, which she would rather not discuss in detail.