Kla Party leader Korn Chatikavanij will join the economic team of the Chart Pattana Party though he denied speculation of a potential merger between the two parties.
He also refused to say whether he will resign as the party leader before joining the economic team.
Suwat Liptapanlop, chairman of Chart Pattana, and Mr Korn appeared together at a press conference to announce the appointment at Mr Suwat's residence in Bangkok's Dusit district.
Mr Suwat said he has invited Mr Korn to join the team to tackle economic problems.
Chart Pattana will hold a general assembly to elect seven new party executives and four members of a strategic committee, Mr Suwat said, adding that it is not decided yet what position Mr Korn will hold.
"I insist this is not a merger. We have invited Mr Korn because he has experience and shares the same aim of addressing the country's economic crisis," Mr Suwat said.
Mr Suwat also said the new election rules have forced political parties to change tack ahead of the next election. "Inviting Mr Korn is a bid to adjust our strategy," he said.
Mr Korn said he met Mr Suwat personally, not as the leader of the Kla Party, for talks on working together in the future.
Regarding whether he will quit the party before joining Chart Pattana's economic team, Mr Korn would only say that there are legal technicalities to be considered.
"But I have initially discussed the matter with Kla members and they agreed with this new political approach," Mr Korn said.
Mr Korn also said that if the use of the 100 divisor to calculate list MPs is adopted for the next election, this will be particularly significant for newly established parties.
"Therefore, it will be an advantage if small parties join forces and work together for the benefit of the public," Mr Korn said.
Large parties support the 100 divisor while small parties have rallied behind a 500 divisor they believe would give them a better chance of securing list seats because the minimum number of votes needed would be much smaller.
Asked about a possible merger between the two parties, Mr Korn said: "There are still some legal procedures to follow before a final configuration becomes clear."
The Kla leader also remained coy on whether the party will be disbanded, saying that the party's status quo remains unchanged.
Kla was first registered as a party with the Election Commission after the general election in 2019. Mr Korn is a seasoned politician with economic expertise, who served as finance minister from Dec 20, 2008–Aug 9, 2011, under the Abhisit Vejjajiva administration.
Mr Korn ran for the Democrat Party leadership but lost to Jurin Laksanawisit. After that, he quit the Democrats to form the Kla Party in February 2020.