Move Forward Party drops coalition partners amid supporter backlash

Thailand’s Move Forward Party (MFP) made a recent change to its proposed coalition. The party has decided to drop the New and Chartpattanakla parties from its proposed coalition line-up, following a backlash from its supporters. MFP secretary-general Chaithawat Tulathon announced yesterday that the party will now focus on lobbying for Senate support for its leader, Pita Limjaroenrat, to become premier, Bangkok Post reported.

Pita Limjaroenrat took to Twitter on Friday night to apologise for the approaches, stating…

“I will keep reminding myself that a party is bigger than an individual. The people are bigger than a party.”

This came after the MFP faced mounting pressure from its supporters, many of whom opposed the inclusion of Chartpattanakla in its alliance.

The MFP held talks with Chartpattanakla on Friday regarding their support for Pita’s bid to become prime minister and the formation of a coalition government. MFP deputy leader Phicharn Chaowapatanawong confirmed the alliance that evening. However, the negotiations were met with widespread criticism from the public, party staff, provincial-level panels, and party members.

The opposition to Chartpattanakla is related to its leader, Korn Chatikavanij, who participated in the seven-month long Bangkok Shutdown and anti-Yingluck Shinawatra protests that led to the military coup that toppled her administration on May 22, 2014. Korn, a former deputy leader of the Democrat Party, also voted in favour of General Prayut Chan-o-cha, the coup leader at the time, as prime minister.

The MFP, after winning the most House seats in the election, said the party would focus on convincing enough senators to back Pita as PM, allowing it to form a government as soon as possible.

The one-member New Party on Friday accepted the invitation to join the alliance, setting it on course to becoming the ninth party to do so. However, the party was also dropped from the proposed coalition line-up, following the online backlash, according to party leader Kritditas Saengthanayothin.

Chartpattanakla chairman Suwat Liptapanlop yesterday insisted that the party had been approached to join the proposed MFP-led coalition bloc and not the other way around. The MFP said it was running short of MP support to form a government. Suwat said…

“We didn’t ask to be part of the coalition bloc. The party merely wanted to see post-election politics with a semblance of stability and for the country to be ruled by a government with majority support in parliament.”