Student union petitions Democrats to join Pheu Thai-led coalition

[snoop1130]

Student union petitions Democrats to join Pheu Thai-led coalition 

By The Nation

 

Photo : Prasert Thepsri

 

The Student Union of Thailand on Monday lodged a petition with the Democrat Party, calling for it to join a proposed coalition government led by the Pheu Thai Party.

 

The union was represented by its president, Parit “Penguin” Chiwarak, and about 10 members.

 

Parit told reporters that the Democrats joining a Pheu Thai-led government would be the only way to end the continuation in power of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, via the Palang Pracharat Party, following the general election.

 

Palang Pracharat has nominated Prayut as its sole prime-minister candidate for the next government. 

 

Unofficial results of the March 24 general election saw Pheu Thai winning more Lower House seats than Prayut’s party.

 

Pheu Thai, known for being allied to self-exiled ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra, earlier announced that it and other parties were ready to form a coalition government, having signed a pact mainly to try to stop Prayut hanging on to power. 

 

Palang Pracharat, which according to unofficial results won the popular vote, has also vowed to form its own coalition.

 

The Democrats, which suffered huge losses in their strongholds in the South and Bangkok, have since the election remained silent on whether the party would join either of the potential coalition governments or be in the Opposition bloc. 

 

The party’s leader, former PM Abhisit Vejjajiva, resigned from his position to show responsibility for the electoral losses and appointed veteran politician Jurin Laksanavisit as acting leader.

 

Parit said the student union’s petition, which was addressed to Jurin, claimed that if the Democrats opted to be an Opposition party as recommended by its younger politicians, known as Young Dem, such a move would also indirectly help Prayut and Palang Pracharat hold on to power.

 

He called for the Democrat Party to reach a decision and announce its intentions as soon as possible.

 

“Although I’m not a member of the Democrat Party and was not one of 3.9 million who voted for the party in the election, I take this opportunity as a member of the public to call for a political party to have a clear position,” he explained.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/politics/30366930

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2019-04-01

[Bluespunk]

13 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

Parit told reporters that the Democrats joining a Pheu Thai-led government would be the only way to end the continuation in power of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, via the Palang Pracharat Party, following the general election.

Yeah right, give power to a thaksin controlled govt.

 

I have no time or illusions about the current regime, but PT are in many ways no better.

 

People are free to vote PT into power [or should be], but the Dems voter base chose not to put PT into power through their choice at the ballot box.

 

PT would chew up, spit out and stomp on the remains of the Dems if they were idiotic enough to ally themselves to them.

 

Dream on...

Edited April 1, 2019 by Bluespunk

[robblok]

13 minutes ago, Bluespunk said:

Yeah right, give power to a thaksin controlled govt.

 

I have no time or illusions about the current regime, but PT are in many ways no better.

 

People are free to vote PT into power [or should be], but the Dems voter base chose not to put PT into power through their choice at the ballot box.

 

PT would chew up, spit out and stomp on the remains of the Dems if they were idiotic enough to ally themselves to them.

 

Dream on...

The democrats will never join the PTP their voters just don't want it. I have no problem with the PTP forming a government if they can. Prefer it over the junta but only because they will be checked more.

 

But realistically both junta and PTP are not that much different I doubt us foreigners will notice the difference. Some seem to think that once the PTP gets to power all immigration laws will be easier.

[Brigand]

The "Democrats" have an image issue with their name and it needs to change as it does not sync with their MO/actions. You can't call yourselves "The Democrat Party" and then support a military junta or a rigged election...come on. 

[pornprong]

31 minutes ago, Bluespunk said:

Yeah right, give power to a thaksin controlled govt.

No, it will be a coalition with a very strong junior partner - Future Forward and should the Democrats join, there would be 2 very strong junior partners.

 

To be clear, you have an issue with a coalition consisting of 8 separate parties that will always be opposed by 250 unelected senators and the courts and the NACC and the Election Commission and the military because........ Thaksin would have too much power. 

Laughable.

Especially when considering the alternative outcome of the Democrats joining Prayuth and the 250 unelected senators creating a real unaccountable government with all power in Prayuths hands.

 

31 minutes ago, Bluespunk said:

I have no time or illusions about the current regime, but PT are in many ways no better.

In which ways are PT worse than the current regime?

 

31 minutes ago, Bluespunk said:

People are free to vote PT into power [or should be], but the Dems voter base chose not to put PT into power through their choice at the ballot box.

You are clearly not following the news too well.

The Democrat party split along the lines of those who support democracy and those who don't.

The Democrat voters who don't much fancy democracy transferred their votes to Palang Pracharat.

The Democrat voters that stuck with the party naturally expect the party to side with democracy.

 

31 minutes ago, Bluespunk said:

PT would chew up, spit out and stomp on the remains of the Dems if they were idiotic enough to ally themselves to them.

Too late, Palang Pracharat have already chewed, spat and stomped, thus the demise of Abhisiv's political career.

 

31 minutes ago, Bluespunk said:

Dream on...

Abhisits nephew is doing a lot more than just dreaming on this issue.

[Bluespunk]

2 minutes ago, pornprong said:

No, it will be a coalition with a very strong junior partner - Future Forward and should the Democrats join, there would be 2 very strong junior partners.

 

To be clear, you have an issue with a coalition consisting of 8 separate parties that will always be opposed by 250 unelected senators and the courts and the NACC and the Election Commission and the military because........ Thaksin would have too much power. 

Laughable.

Especially when considering the alternative outcome of the Democrats joining Prayuth and the 250 unelected senators creating a real unaccountable government with all power in Prayuths hands.

 

In which ways are PT worse than the current regime?

 

You are clearly not following the news too well.

The Democrat party split along the lines of those who support democracy and those who don't.

The Democrat voters who don't much fancy democracy transferred their votes to Palang Pracharat.

The Democrat voters that stuck with the party naturally expect the party to side with democracy.

 

Too late, Palang Pracharat have already chewed, spat and stomped, thus the demise of Abhisiv's political career.

 

Abhisits nephew is doing a lot more than just dreaming on this issue.

I was here during the previous PT governments and remember well the butchery of thaksin's war on drugs and the use of the street thug udd.

 

Never trust PT.

[sammieuk1]

It appears Mr Kim has also joined the union????

[pornprong]

9 minutes ago, Bluespunk said:

I was here during the previous PT governments and remember well the butchery of thaksin's war on drugs and the use of the street thug udd.

 

Never trust PT.

Nonsense.

 

https://opinion.inquirer.net/100628/lets-look-thailands-war-drugs

 

https://asiancorrespondent.com/2007/08/2275-where-did-this-number-come-from/

Edited April 1, 2019 by pornprong

[Bluespunk]

2 minutes ago, pornprong said:

Nonsense.

 

https://opinion.inquirer.net/100628/lets-look-thailands-war-drugs

 

https://asiancorrespondent.com/2007/08/2275-where-did-this-number-come-from/

I was here.

 

Were you?

 

It isn't nonsense.

[pornprong]

5 minutes ago, Bluespunk said:

I was here.

 

Were you?

 

It isn't nonsense.

Indeed I was, but what difference does that make?

 

Nonsense!

[plachon]

40 minutes ago, sammieuk1 said:

It appears Mr Kim has also joined the union????

I noticed the resemblance too......if ever Kim J-U needs a stand in at a military march past or rocket launch, straight down the Thai student's union, quick ultra short back and sides, shove him in a Chairman Mao suit, and the lad's good to go.......    ????

[bannork]

The Democrats don't have to join Pheua Thai. that's expecting too much, Everyone knows Thaksin doesn't possess one democratic bone in his body.

But to join Palang Pracharat is even worse, a party composed of defectors and supporters of a coup maker and authoritarian figure. The young Dems know that if the party did this, they have nowhere to hang their hats in claiming they are a party of the people who cherish democratic values. They will be crucified in the next general election. Older constituency politicians of the party may survive due to 'achievements' with PPRT but Future Forward will hoover up the young voters.

As Abhisit's nephew said, the young Dems can sit on the Opposition bench and take each issue as it comes.

[pornprong]

20 minutes ago, bannork said:

The Democrats don't have to join Pheua Thai. that's expecting too much, Everyone knows Thaksin doesn't possess one democratic bone in his body.

But to join Palang Pracharat is even worse, a party composed of defectors and supporters of a coup maker and authoritarian figure. The young Dems know that if the party did this, they have nowhere to hang their hats in claiming they are a party of the people who cherish democratic values. They will be crucified in the next general election. Older constituency politicians of the party may survive due to 'achievements' with PPRT but Future Forward will hoover up the young voters.

As Abhisit's nephew said, the young Dems can sit on the Opposition bench and take each issue as it comes.

Everyone does not know that Thaksin doesn't possess one democratic bone in his body because......... that statement is a load of nonsense predicated on nonsense.

The only, repeat only, avenue Thaksin has to having any sort of power in Thailand is via democracy.

So why would he be against the only thing that delivers him anything.

Thaksin's reasons for supporting democracy may or may not be pure, but support democracy he most certainly does.

 

As for the Democrats, their choice is simply to side with democracy (yes, that means Thaksin and Thanathorn) or not to.

Fence sitting will not suffice.

Edited April 1, 2019 by pornprong

[bannork]

10 minutes ago, pornprong said:

Everyone does not know that Thaksin doesn't possess one democratic bone in his body because......... that statement is a load of nonsense predicated on nonsense.

The only, repeat only, avenue Thaksin has to having any sort of power in Thailand is via democracy.

So why would he be against the only thing that delivers him anything.

Thaksin's reasons for supporting democracy may or may not be pure, but support democracy he most certainly does.

 

As for the Democrats, their choice is simply to side with democracy (yes, that means Thaksin and Thanathorn) or not to.

Fence sitting will not suffice.

Thaksin doesn't support democracy. If he did, he wouldn't have selected Princess Ubolratana to run as Prime Minister candidate, thereby condemning the entire executive board of Thai Raksa Chart to a 10 year ban from politics.

Jaturon Chaisaeng, the most prominent and respected member of the party didn't even know what was going on.

Thaksin owns, Thaksin does, and nobody else counts.

Fence sitting is better than joining Palang Pracharat. it deprives them of votes.

 

[beautifulthailand99]

????Lambs to the slaughter.....????????????

[pornprong]

22 minutes ago, bannork said:

Thaksin doesn't support democracy. If he did, he wouldn't have selected Princess Ubolratana to run as Prime Minister candidate, thereby condemning the entire executive board of Thai Raksa Chart to a 10 year ban from politics.

Jaturon Chaisaeng, the most prominent and respected member of the party didn't even know what was going on.

Thaksin owns, Thaksin does, and nobody else counts.

 

Quote

Fence sitting is better than joining Palang Pracharat. it deprives them of votes.

Deprive Palang Pracharat of votes..... which of course means the Democrats would be voting with the pro-democracy coalition.

 

BTW - isn't it better to deprive Palang Pracharat of government than just votes?

Edited April 1, 2019 by pornprong

[Khaeng Mak]

Do you have to be fat and retarded looking to join the student union?

[bannork]

10 minutes ago, pornprong said:

 

Deprive Palang Pracharat of votes..... which of course means the Democrats would be voting with the pro-democracy coalition.

 

BTW - isn't it better to deprive Palang Pracharat of government than just votes?

Ask the Thai Raksa Chart executives if it feels 'flimsy' to be banned for 10 years due to no fault of their own than being naive in thinking they were in a democratic party?

I reckon Palang Pracharat will be deprived of government if they cannot rely on The Democrats. Their numbers just won't be enough.

[billd766]

3 hours ago, Bluespunk said:

Yeah right, give power to a thaksin controlled govt.

 

I have no time or illusions about the current regime, but PT are in many ways no better.

 

People are free to vote PT into power [or should be], but the Dems voter base chose not to put PT into power through their choice at the ballot box.

 

PT would chew up, spit out and stomp on the remains of the Dems if they were idiotic enough to ally themselves to them.

 

Dream on...

With respect they are a lot better than the PPRP.

 

In every free and fair election this century they have won a majority.

 

Only back in 1997 did the Democrats win a free and fair election, some 22 years ago.

 

The current government are only in power because of a military coup and they are desperate to keep that power, and will do anything to make sure that the PPRP win this election just to give a facade that they are legitimate.

 

The Democrats are leaderless, rudderless dinosaurs and their only way to win legitimacy is to dump Abhisit and the party leadership and rebuild the party from the ground up.

 

They are long past their best by date. 

[bangkokfrog]

29 minutes ago, beautifulthailand99 said:

????Lambs to the slaughter.....????????????

Let's hope not. But I fear that if things go as I expect after May 9, you may be right.

[Bluespunk]

33 minutes ago, billd766 said:

With respect they are a lot better than the PPRP.

 

In every free and fair election this century they have won a majority.

 

Only back in 1997 did the Democrats win a free and fair election, some 22 years ago.

 

The current government are only in power because of a military coup and they are desperate to keep that power, and will do anything to make sure that the PPRP win this election just to give a facade that they are legitimate.

 

The Democrats are leaderless, rudderless dinosaurs and their only way to win legitimacy is to dump Abhisit and the party leadership and rebuild the party from the ground up.

 

They are long past their best by date. 

You make some good points and I agree with them.

 

Never said I support the dems or the current regime. 

 

Just pointing out pt cannot be trusted. 

 

As the rice farmers found out to their cost. 

Edited April 1, 2019 by Bluespunk

[robblok]

9 hours ago, bannork said:

Ask the Thai Raksa Chart executives if it feels 'flimsy' to be banned for 10 years due to no fault of their own than being naive in thinking they were in a democratic party?

I reckon Palang Pracharat will be deprived of government if they cannot rely on The Democrats. Their numbers just won't be enough.

Of course Thaksin is not democratic he has said as much himself and his actions speak for himself. 

 

People like pornprong want us to believe there are just two options anti junta and pro Thaksin. While one can be anti Thaksin and anti Junta. Makes it easier for him to look past the misdeeds of the guy.

 

I for one prefer the future forward and know Thaksin is not a democrat and as bad as all of them no need to make him look good at all. He is in it for the money and power (and now revenge) just like the others. To act like he is a saint is just funny. Thaksin belongs in the same list of names as Prayut, Suthep, Charlem, Prawit. Nothing good about him without him and the others on the list Thailand would be better off.

 

I still prefer a anti junta coalition over a junta one but that does not make Thaksin a good guy.

[crazykopite]

At the end of the day there has been an election regardless who has won I have to ask why has the military not returned to barracks there is no longer a need for them as long as they are on the streets then the junta is in charge and the good people of Thailand did not vote for that.

[pornprong]

3 hours ago, robblok said:

Of course Thaksin is not democratic he has said as much himself and his actions speak for himself. 

Thaksin has yet to ever boycott an election, alter a constitution to make it less democratic, sack and replace the entire Election Commission with his own cronies, not accept the results of an election.......the list goes on.

 

Unfortunately for you, facts are facts and the fact is that Thaksin is the most democratic PM Thailand has ever had.

 

Quote

People like pornprong want us to believe there are just two options anti junta and pro Thaksin. While one can be anti Thaksin and anti Junta. Makes it easier for him to look past the misdeeds of the guy.

It seems the most of Thailand and the all the international media organisations sees the battle as being between pro-democracy and pro-dictatorship camps.

 

In fact so common is the reference pro-democracy versus pro-dictatorship the the leader of the Palang Pracharat party pleaded with the press to stop using the terms pro-dictatorship to describe his side.

 

There are only 2 groups who deny the pro-democracy versus pro dictatorship paradigm, they are:

 

1. The pro-dictatorship supporters (for obvious reasons)

2. TVF closet fascists scrambling to continue to justify their support of dictatorship by continuing to dress it up as opposition to Thaksin.

 

Quote

I for one prefer the future forward and know Thaksin is not a democrat and as bad as all of them no need to make him look good at all. He is in it for the money and power (and now revenge) just like the others. To act like he is a saint is just funny. Thaksin belongs in the same list of names as Prayut, Suthep, Charlem, Prawit. Nothing good about him without him and the others on the list Thailand would be better off.

You prefer Future Forward and Future Forward prefers Thaksin, how ironic.

 

As for your list of villains, get ready to update it.

 

There are calls for Future Forward to be dissolved and its leader, Thanathorn, to be barred from politics for being a threat to national security and the monarchy. Thanathorn sits now, precisely in the position that Thaksin occupied in 2005 - the number one threat to the entrenched elites continued rule.

 

Quote

I still prefer a anti junta coalition over a junta one but that does not make Thaksin a good guy.

Five years from now the only difference in the above sentence will be instead of Thaksin, you'll be typing Thanathorn as you carry on cheerleading the anti-democratic forces at work in this country.

 

The fig leaf is well and truly gone.

Edited April 2, 2019 by pornprong

[mike324]

I suspect Prayuth is having a guilty conscious, on one hand he wants to be loved and thinks everyone loves him, so he is doing whats best for the nation. On the other, he know his party is not the majority, but is desperately trying to hold on to power. He will have to decide, either be hated and be called undemocratic and have the EC declare his party as the winner. Or just let go and enjoy his army life once again and sing kumbaya.

[pornprong]

3 minutes ago, mike324 said:

I suspect Prayuth is having a guilty conscious, on one hand he wants to be loved and thinks everyone loves him, so he is doing whats best for the nation. On the other, he know his party is not the majority, but is desperately trying to hold on to power. He will have to decide, either be hated and be called undemocratic and have the EC declare his party as the winner. Or just let go and enjoy his army life once again and sing kumbaya.

Or perhaps the man is not as big a fool as he appears to be.

The events of 1992 may be vividly on his mind.

Having mounted the tiger, he now faces the all too certain eventuality of facing a most difficult dismount.

[billd766]

12 hours ago, Bluespunk said:

You make some good points and I agree with them.

 

Never said I support the dems or the current regime. 

 

Just pointing out pt cannot be trusted. 

 

As the rice farmers found out to their cost. 

I agree with you about the PTP but OTOH the junta cannot be trusted at all as the country is finding out to its cost.

[Eric Loh]

1 hour ago, pornprong said:

Or perhaps the man is not as big a fool as he appears to be.

The events of 1992 may be vividly on his mind.

Having mounted the tiger, he now faces the all too certain eventuality of facing a most difficult dismount.

I give him the discredit for rekindling the students 1992 spirit. Lost for 2 decades but now awakened to challenge the junta's authoritarianism ambition. If he dismount, he will probably step on a land mine. Either way, it wouldn't be pretty.    

[Baerboxer]

16 hours ago, pornprong said:

Everyone does not know that Thaksin doesn't possess one democratic bone in his body because......... that statement is a load of nonsense predicated on nonsense.

The only, repeat only, avenue Thaksin has to having any sort of power in Thailand is via democracy.

So why would he be against the only thing that delivers him anything.

Thaksin's reasons for supporting democracy may or may not be pure, but support democracy he most certainly does.

 

As for the Democrats, their choice is simply to side with democracy (yes, that means Thaksin and Thanathorn) or not to.

Fence sitting will not suffice.

 

Thaksin himself stated democracy wasn't his objective. He has mercenaries, street thugs and managed control over the police but never the military. His only option is 'democracy". Any Thaksin owned political party supports the Shins first, and last, period. 

 

Were he to wangle an amnesty and return to lead a government he'd work fast and hard to make himself and his clan as fixed in power as Maduro, Hun Sen or the Lees. Just look at how his PTP reacted when losing by-election whilst in power. 

 

You might get one or two votes under PTP but once they started loosing control watch them change. 

 

The Junta are transparent in what they are; and so are PTP. 

 

Stop pretending otherwise. Too many posters on here lived through Thaksin regimes, the lies and corruption and the attempts at re-writing history.

 

Do you deny the Krungthai Bank Fraud? The Pastry Gate saga? etc etc etc.

 

The Thai people deserve a real government, not some elites running the country for themselves. And the Shins are also elites who want it all for themselves.

[Baerboxer]

1 hour ago, billd766 said:

I agree with you about the PTP but OTOH the junta cannot be trusted at all as the country is finding out to its cost.

 

Agree - neither can be trusted as the are both self serving. Why some want to pretend PTP aren't is just silly.

 

As we are now seeing, being untrustworthy seems a qualification for politics anywhere in the world!