Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan has announced the Thai Sang Thai Party (TST) to be a "third force" in politics whose policy platforms will highlight the country's priorities for the next general election expected early next year.
In an interview with the Bangkok Post, Khunying Sudarat, who early this month assumed the party leadership and announced her bid to contest the prime ministerial post, addressed her party's policy platforms.
With more than 30 years of experience including various cabinet portfolios, few doubt her calibre to serve as the country's second female prime minister after Yingluck Shinawatra, should she get the chance.
But the 2017 constitution has one specific demand that some political observers believe could keep the TST from its goal. For a party to be eligible to nominate the prime minister for the House of Representatives to vote on, it must command at least 25 House seats. They see the TST's chance of securing the required number of seats as slim.
At the election, the TST will be pitted against not only firmly-established parties, but also strong newcomers like the Ruam Thai Sang Chart Party and Sang Anakhot Thai Party.
The former Pheu Thai Party chief strategist said she was confident the party's platforms and candidate line-up will speak to the people's needs and bring changes to the political landscape.
She said the number of House seats the party wins, which will determine if it is in the government or opposition camp, does not really matter because she is confident people will see the TST as instrumental in solving the country's problems.
"Our party is positioned as an alternative party and if people vote for us, the country will move beyond the vicious cycle it's been in and will not be trapped. The TST was formed to move beyond political conflicts.
"This is because we treat people as equally importantly and respect differences. If people vote the way they did, we'll head back into conflict. Sixteen years is enough to make the people learn," she said.
Khunying Sudarat said she left the Pheu Thai Party to form the TST not to pursue personal ambitions. She resigned as the Pheu Thai Party's chief strategist in September 2020 before quitting Pheu Thai on Nov 30.
With her career spanning more than 30 years and after serving in various ministries including interior, public health and transport, she trusts that under her leadership the TST can chart a new course in politics and establish itself as a political institution.
The 61-year-old politician reminisced about her years in the Palang Dhamma Party (PDP) founded and headed by Maj Gen Chamlong Srimuang and the Thai Rak Thai Party (TRT) founded by Thaksin Shinawatra.
The PDP under Maj Gen Chamlong's leadership was known as an upholder of political principles and integrity and during its peak in 1992 won 46 House seats. When its popularity plunged, Khunying Sudarat was the only party candidate to win election.
After becoming estranged with the PDP which was mired in internal rifts, she left to join the Thai Rak Thai Party which had a stunning victory in the 2001 and 2005 polls.
"I worked with the PDP whose leader is guided by moral principles. I also worked with the TRT which was driven by science and knowledge. I've become who I am because of this.
"We won't do things that are not in the country's interest, such as bargaining for cabinet seats or personal gain. This is the most difficult time for the people and the country. We'll lay the foundations and rope in people of various generations to build back and strengthen the country," she said.
Khunying Sudarat said what makes the TST different from other political outfits is that it will remove elements that have divided the country into two political camps for 16 years.
It would set up a constitution drafting council to write a new charter except for the first two chapters, and revise the nation's strategy which it sees as holding the country back from developing.
Chapter 1 contains sections defining Thailand as a single, indivisible kingdom with a democratic regime and the King as head of state. Chapter 2 contains sections pertaining to royal prerogatives.
"We won't touch Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 because it will ignite conflict. We're against efforts by the military regime to prolong its own power or amend the charter to serve its own agenda. We won't do that," she said.
TST also aims to do with away or overhaul some 1,500 outdated rules and laws which the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI) argues have hampered development and kept small players and local communities from generating income.
Some of these laws, particularly those dealing with business licensing, open the way for bribes and corruption, she said. The so-called bureaucratic state will also be addressed, said Khunying Sudarat. A new working style is needed in which officials should shift away from regulator or controller to facilitator.
The party also wants to eliminate corruption which the current charter fails to tackle even though it was supposedly designed to tackle graft, she said, pointing to the country's performance in the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), conducted by Transparency International. Thailand fell six places in the CPI released in January. It was ranked 110th with a score of 35 out of 100 in the 2021 survey, down from 104th a year ago when it scored 36. The global average score was 45.
TST's key members include Supant Mongkolsuthree, former chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries; Prawat Uttamote, former deputy minister of agriculture and cooperatives; Torphong Chaiyasan, former deputy minister of public health, and Sqn Ldr Sita Divari, former Bangkok governor candidate.