December 27, 2023
BANGKOK – Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin reiterated on Tuesday that his coalition government, backed by 314 MPs, was stable and did not require support from the opposition Democrat Party’s 25 MPs.
The premier also dismissed rumours of an imminent Cabinet reshuffle, saying he had not proposed any such changes.
“We are already happy. The 314 out of 500 MPs are enough for running the country,” Srettha asserted.
“All Cabinet members are working to the best of their abilities. Their working style may need to be adjusted. We may not agree in all our work, but we have been consulting one another like mature people,” he said.
Responding to queries about the potential inclusion of 25 Democrat MPs, Srettha acknowledged that numerically it might be better, but sharing ministries would bring complications.
Srettha had ruled out the inclusion of the Democrat Party for the same reasons when asked a similar question on Sunday.
As for the monikers assigned to him and his government by the Government House reporters, he said he was not annoyed because it was an annual tradition.
Regarding the label given to his government as a coalition that deceived election winner Move Forward, Srettha explained that Pheu Thai could not wait nine to 10 months to form a government as proposed by the winning party.
He said the country urgently needed a government, so Pheu Thai had no choice but to dump Move Forward and join former partners of the previous government.
As for being labelled a stand-in for the Shinawatra family, Srettha said the public will decide in the next election, adding that he was confident his government would complete its four-year term.