The Move Forward Party (MFP) will not quit the eight-party coalition it put together; otherwise, it will be considered to have let people down, its leader Pita Limjaroenrat said on Sunday.
During his trip to Chanthaburi province, reporters asked Mr Pita to comment on whether several other parties in the alliance were apparently trying to convince his party to sacrifice itself and leave the coalition to pave the way for the formation of the next government.
"A sacrifice would mean to dump 14 million votes and disappoint people. Now promises and principles must be kept, rather than telling a party to sacrifice itself," Mr Pita said, referring to the 14 million votes his party received in the May 14 general election.
"If we keep the promises we have made with people, no one will have to make a sacrifice," he said.
Mr Pita acknowledged that the Pheu Thai Party had offered talks with the Palang Pracharath and United Thai Nation (UTN) parties.
Reporters asked if the meetings were intended to pressure MFP to leave the eight-party alliance. Mr Pita said that if the two latter parties join the coalition, MFP could not stay.
"As far as I know, the parties were invited only for an exchange of opinions. I will wait for an explanation from the Pheu Thai Party... I confirm that I still have trust and confidence in the Pheu Thai Party," Mr Pita said.
He also acknowledged the meeting of Pheu Thai with Bhumjaithai and UTN which saw MFP as their obstacle to government formation.
Reporters asked if the stance was aimed at pressuring MFP to call off its government formation efforts. Mr Pita said if the eight coalition allies remained united, there would not be any pressure.
Asked how MFP would respond if its seven coalition allies wanted it to back down on its efforts to amend the lese majeste law, Mr Pita said he would then listen to the details of the allies' standpoints on the law.
Mr Pita said his morale was good and he would be visiting provinces to support the work of MFP MPs.
He also said his legal team was preparing defence in petitions against his eligibility for political office and Move Forward had not made any mistakes in failing to win prime ministerial and House speaker seats.
One legal petition has already resulted in the Constitutional Court suspending Mr Pita's MP role.
