Bhumjaithai Party leader Anutin Charnvirakul has not ruled out swapping some ministerial posts with its Democrat Party coalition partner in the much-anticipated upcoming reshuffle.
Mr Anutin, also concurrently deputy prime minister and public health minister, admitted on Tuesday that post-swapping had crossed his mind.
His comment came after Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha disclosed that the ruling Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) had handed him its list of proposed cabinet ministers for the reshuffle. Bhumjaithai and the Democrats have not yet submitted theirs.
Gen Prayut had said earlier that no outsiders would become ministers in the shake-up and yesterday he urged people not to jump to conclusions about what would happen, saying that candidates for cabinet membership were subject to background checks anyway.
Mr Anutin said yesterday he was mulling over cross-party horse trading.
"But it takes two to tango," he said. "We need to ask if the other party is also willing to swap [cabinet seats] or not."
If there were to be swaps, Mr Anutin said they would be limited to a few seats. He added that the secretaries-general of both parties could discuss any issues if needed because they retained close ties.
It has been speculated that one swap would involve the deputy transport minister post left vacant by Democrat MP Thaworn Senneam, who was among three cabinet post holders removed from office after being convicted for their roles in the 2014 People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) demonstrations.
One source said Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob, also the Bhumjajthai secretary-general, might work better in sync with a deputy from his own party.
It is unclear exactly which posts Mr Anutin considers suitable for negotiating with the Democrats.
He would only say the issue needed to be carefully considered since he had not yet brought it up for discussion with his coalition partner.
"It's not a matter of weighing options and the specific posts. We need to look at the broader picture as well," the public health minister said, adding that Bhumjaithai had not set a deadline for submitting is reshuffle list to the prime minister.
Mr Anutin said he would let Gen Prayut have a free hand in appointing cabinet ministers "and we shouldn't pile pressure on him".
He also maintained he got on well with Deputy Public Health Minister and Democrat MP Sathit Pitutecha.