The Democrat Party is still searching for its new leader after two failed attempts over the past two months.
The prospects of former leader Abhisit Vejjajiva returning to the same role is not bright as he is being challenged by a new faction led by Chalermchai Sri-on, acting party secretary-general, and Det-it Khaothong, acting deputy leader, which has a large group of MPs under its wing.
A party source told the Bangkok Post that after the party failed to elect a new executive board and leader twice due to a lack of quorum on July 9 and Aug 6, Mr Chalermchai was unhappy and pointed the finger at the old camp led by Mr Abhisit and another former leader Chuan Leekpai.
At the time, the party, which has 25 MPs, was being touted as a possible partner in the new Pheu Thai-led coalition, even though it had not yet reached a formal resolution on the matter.
But Mr Chalermchai informed Pheu Thai that while his 21 MPs would vote for PT's prime ministerial candidate, Mr Abhisit was against joining PT in government on the ground the two parties had been fierce rivals for years, the source said.
Mr Abhisit is seeking the party leadership again and does not mind if the Democrats end up in the opposition as he and his camp believe that performing in that role would help restore the party's dignity and popularity, the source said.
The Democrats may now miss out on the opportunity to join the Pheu Thai-led coalition as PT appears set to gather enough support from other parties to ensure a House majority.
According to another source, Pheu Thai has now sealed a deal with the Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) in which the PPRP has agreed to vote for Srettha Thavisin, Pheu Thai's prime ministerial candidate, in exchange for slices of the cabinet quota cake.
However, the United Thai Nation (UTN) Party has not yet confirmed whether it will join the coalition. If the UTN also agrees to join, the Pheu Thai-led coalition will boast 315 MPs, the source said.
But the group of 21 MPs led by Mr Chalermchai has not given up hope, and promises to back Mr Srettha in the next prime ministerial vote in parliament expected on Aug 22.
They hope that when a cabinet reshuffle takes place some time after the formation of a new government, they will be brought into the coalition, a source said.
In light of this, they must seize control of executive power within the party to achieve that aim.
The old camp under Mr Abhisit initially believed that if the Democrat Party failed to join the Pheu Thai-led coalition, this would help boost Mr Abhisit's chances in the leadership race.
But that is not the case because the new camp led by Mr Chalermchai has 21 out of a total 25 MPs and a vote by an MP has more weight than that of a non-MP party member at a ratio of 70 to 30, the source said.
That means the new camp will always win in a vote on any issues and it opposes a proposal to scrap the voting method based on unequal weighting.
In response, the old camp had to resort to tactics to force party meetings to collapse due to a lack of quorum, the source said.
"The two sides point the finger at each other. The new camp sees Mr Abhisit as a source of problems.
"After the Democrats joined the Prayut Chan-o-cha government following the 2019 election, Mr Abhisit resigned as leader to keep his promise that he would quit if the Democrats backed Gen Prayut as prime minister.
"This time, the group thinks Mr Abhisit still has a problem with Pheu Thai and the red-shirt supporters do not like him,'' the source said.
Meanwhile, the old group has criticised Mr Chalermchai for failing to gain recognition from party supporters and the public.
"The rift between them runs so deep. If the new camp can seize power within the party and becomes part of the coalition government, it will take aim at the old camp which it sees as an obstacle,'' the source said.
Even if Mr Abhisit is re-elected as party leader, he will find it difficult to work with the 21 MPs under Mr Chalermchai as these MPs are newcomers and do not share the same mindset, the source said.
Phichai Ratnatilaka Na Bhuket, programme director for politics and development strategy at the National Institute of Development Administration, told the Bangkok Post that Mr Abhisit would have to work hard to restore the party's popularity if elected as leader.
The outcome of the May 14 election showed the party's support base has shrunk considerably as it lost several million votes compared to previous elections, Mr Phichai said.
So, the party must try to woo support from those who voted for the UTN because by the next election, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha will have quit politics and the party is likely to fade away.
"But the problem is that many supporters of the UTN are conservatives while Mr Abhisit is a liberal-minded person. Whether he can woo their support remains to be seen. Moreover, Mr Abhisit is not an MP so it is not easy for him to handle those MPs who do not belong to his camp,'' Mr Phichai said.