Supporters of the Ruam Thai Sang Chart (United Thai Nation) Party hold placards of Thai prime minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha, as the party members rallied for the first time before upcoming elections, at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center in Bangkok on January 9, 2023. (Photo by Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP)
Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has broken with the military-backed political party that helped him take office after a 2019 general election and joined a new rival party with which he is likely to seek another term this year.
Prayut first seized power as army chief in a 2014 military coup and then became prime minister in a military government. He did not run in the 2019 election but was the prime ministerial candidate of the Palang Pracharath Party, which put together a post-election coalition that named him prime minister.
On Monday, Prayut formally joined Ruam Thai Sang Chart, or the United Thai Nation Party, which held its first meeting in August last year. The move had its roots in an often denied but barely concealed rift between him and Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan, a close military comrade for decades who became leader of the Palang Pracharath Party in 2020.
Their falling out became clear when Palang Pracharath announced that Prawit would be its candidate for prime minister in this year’s general election, which must be held by May.
Prawit is widely seen as harbouring ambitions for the top job and seemed visibly energised last year while serving as acting prime minister when Prayut was temporarily suspended for legal reasons.
Prayut gave a speech Monday at a rally in Bangkok in which he said the main reason he was joining a new party was that “Thailand must continue to move forward.”
“I have been thinking how I could continue to solve the country’s problems. I can’t do this alone. I need a team, I need to work with what you call a political party,” Prayut told thousands of supporters.
There are questions about Prayut’s political viability.
His popularity ratings are low, with critics accusing him of mishandling the economy and botching Thailand’s initial response to the Covid-19 pandemic. He is also limited by the constitution to serving a maximum of two more years as premier rather than a full term.
The 2014-2019 military government arranged election laws to favour the Palang Pracharath, but the party’s uninspiring performance in office and the steady strength of civilian-led parties have eaten away at its advantages.
Puangthong Pawakapan, a political science professor at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University, said Prayut’s move to a new party shows he is eager to stay in power.
“However, this coming election is not going to be easy for him. Everyone knows that his new party is separate from the Palang Pracharath Party, but much weaker,” he said.
A main contender for the prime minister’s job is Public Health Minister Anutin Anutin Charnvirakul of the Bhumjai Thai party, a well-funded partner in Prayut’s coalition government.
The main opposition party, Pheu Thai, also remains popular. It has announced that former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s daughter, Paetongtarn, will help lead its next election campaign. — AP
