Since Mingkwan Saengsuwan stepped down as its leader, the New Economics Party (NEP) has been asked one question over and over: Will it switch sides from the opposition to support the coalition government?
Rumours began swirling during the coalition government's formation that the NEP was having a change of heart and might decide to cross the floor and back the government.
However, Mr Mingkwan vehemently dismissed the gossip and insisted the NEP was staying put with the opposition bloc.
His abrupt resignation as party leader, however, lent weight to speculation that the NEP, which has six MPs under its wing, might not stick with opposition camp much longer.
Mr Mingkwan's successor, Manoon Siwapiromrat, responded by insisting the NEP's future remains with the opposition at a time when the government is sitting on a dangerously thin majority in parliament.
However, Mr Manoon added the party reserves the right to allow its MPs a free vote on motions and legislation. The MPs can vote in parliament on a case-by-case basis to support the government, if it serves the public interest.
And now that the government faces a must-win parliamentary vote on the 2020 fiscal budget bill, due to be tabled in parliament on Oct 17, all eyes are once again on the NEP.
"Our stance is and has always been that we're in opposition. We have been working as a good opposition partner," Mr Manoon said.
"As you can see, we had no problems at all in following opposition resolutions for previous House motions."
After all, he added, his party MPs enjoy the freedom to decide on how they vote, which is permitted by the constitution. They can raise their hands in the chamber in support of what they think is right.
"The party has no policy to interfere with its MPs' decisions. And our attention is firmly focused on the economy," he said, adding the party would not engage in political games with anyone.
In the vote on to form a House committee on the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) project, for instance, the NEP chose to back the proposal out of a genuine belief that the panel's work would be economically beneficial for the country, he said.
As for the upcoming vote on the budget bill, he said, the NEP will take into consideration how the government responds to questions during the preceding House debates for the bill's first to its third and final readings.
"At the end of the day, we will see how much the government is prepared to listen to our objections [to the budget bill].
"The decision [one whether to vote to pass the bill] is in our hands. It isn't always necessary for us to follow the opposition's resolutions," Mr Manoon said.
"We're an independent party. No one can mess with our party's affairs. It's the resolutions of the party's executives that we have to follow," he said.
The same rule applies to any censure debate against the government, he said. The party will focus on how convincing are the government's defence and counter-arguments.
"We will listen to members of the party before everyone takes a stand on an issue," he said.
The NEP aims to join the opposition in preparing any no-confidence motion against the government, particularly on economic issues, he said.
Mr Manoon admitted that conflicts exist within the opposition, saying the problem stemmed from large parties' unfair treatment of smaller parties in areas such as membership of House committees.
Although no opposition party got everything it wanted, the fact that large parties hogged the share of committee seats was grossly unfair, he said.
But whether the rift widens or develops into serious conflict will depend on how frequently such "unfair treatment" occurs, he added.