Bhumjaithai Party leader Anutin Charnvirakul has taken a wait-and-see approach on the possibility of forming a government with the Pheu Thai Party, saying the latter has not contacted him yet.
Mr Anutin, whose party secured 71 House seats, the third-most in the May 14 election, said on Thursday that his stance on joining the eight-party coalition with the Move Forward Party (MFP) and Pheu Thai remained unchanged. Bhumjaithai earlier declared that it could not work with any party that sought to amend Section 112, or the lese-majeste law. The party also opposes any attempts to form a minority government.
He confirmed that he has not yet been contacted by Pheu Thai, which has emerged in pole position to form a government after parliament on Wednesday rejected a bid to renominate MFP leader Pita Limjaroenrat for a prime ministerial vote.
Mr Anutin, 56, said he would adopt a wait-and-see approach now because the eight parties in the coalition were still together.
Asked if Bhumjaithai would join if Pheu Thai took the lead in forming a government with Move Forward remaining in the coalition, Mr Anutin simply said had already made his stance clear.
He declined to comment on whether he thought attempts to form a government would reach a deadlock, saying his party played by the rules. The issue would be raised with the parties that were trying to form the government.
The next prime ministerial vote has been scheduled for Thursday, July 27. Move Forward insists that procedurally, Mr Pita’s name could be put forward again. However, it is widely believed that Srettha Thavisin of Pheu Thai will be nominated.
If the Pheu Thai nominee fails to secure a majority, however, Mr Anutin has been mentioned as a compromise candidate in a new coalition arrangement.
When asked whether he was ready to be a prime minister if the existing coalition parties came to a dead end, Mr Anutin said, “Let’s get to that day first.”
He also said he has not yet held any talks with Gen Prawit Wongsuwon, leader of the Palang Pracharath Party and its prime ministerial candidate, or coordinated with any political parties to discuss the matter.
Asked if Bhumjaithai would be disappointed if Pheu Thai nominated Mr Srettha with Move Forward still in the coalition, Mr Anutin questioned why reporters kept asking the question, since he had made his party’s stance known.
“Ask Pheu Thai,” he said, when asked whether Pheu Thai would abandon the MFP.
Bhumjaithai expects to call a meeting with its MPs one day before the next joint House and Senate sitting to decide on its strategy, he said.
Mr Anutin said his party must maintain political etiquette and follow the rules because it has not played any role in government formation to this point. As long as the eight coalition parties are still together, and the MoU they signed is still in force, the ball is in their court.
If a prime minister is chosen next week, he said, he would comment further on the formation of the government then.
Mr Anutin’s family is the major shareholder in Sino-Thai Engineering and Construction Plc, one of the country’s largest contractors. He held cabinet positions in the early years of the Thai Rak Thai administration led by Thaksin Shinawatra in 2004-05 before he and dozens of other party executives were banned for five years by the Constitutional Court.