Two parties led by veteran political heavyweights Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan and Somkid Jatusripitak have announced an alliance but have stopped short of saying if the move will lead to a merger ahead of next year’s election.
Neither party has dropped any hint as to who will become their top prime ministerial candidate: Mr Somkid of the Sang Anakhot Thai Party (SATP) or Kunying Sudarat of the Thai Sang Thai Party (TSTP).
After the alliance was announced on Thursday, Mr Somkid declined to say if he would be accept a nomination as a prime ministerial candidate if a merger took place, saying no post mattered to him because he had occupied many important positions in the past.
Mr Somkid served most recently as a deputy prime minister overseeing economic affairs in the Prayut Chan-o-cha administration. Before that he was associated with the Pheu Thai Party and its predecessors linked to former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
“As for the premiership, it’s up to destiny — what’s important is the mission to resolve the country’s problems,” he said.
The parties’ decision to form an alliance was influenced by the Constitutional Court’s ruling in November, which cleared the way for the use of the number 100 as the divisor to calculate party-list seats in the next poll.
The SATP is a newly established party and the TSTP remains small some two years after its founding. They are likely to find themselves at a disadvantage if they were to compete in the polls separately, or without an alliance.
The new list MP calculation method, which is part of the dual-ballot election system, increases the number of votes a party must win to capture a list MP seat, which may prove too tough a task for small parties.
The next House of Representatives will have 500 members: 400 elected in constituencies and 100 from party lists. The election must be held no later than May 7.
The SATP and TSTP have been courting each other for some time but an expected merger has never come to fruition.
One of the stumbling blocks is believed to be the unsettled issue of which leader would be the prime ministerial candidate of a merged entity.
The law, however, allows a party that wins at least 25 MP seats from either or both of the constituency and list systems to nominate up to three people as prime minister.
On Thursday, Khunying Sudarat said she and Mr Somkid had worked together for decades, during which time they produced important policies for the country.
At this point, both parties have agreed to focus on how to tackle the country’s main problems that need to be addressed urgently, said the former Pheu Thai chief strategist.
“We are here today to discuss how to work together, not to fight for power,” she said.
Pokin Polakul, chief of the TSTP’s strategic committee, said one of its priorities is to push for a rewrite of the constitution. SATP leader Uttama Savanayana stressed the need to focus on reviving the economy.