Opinion: Thammanat’s gamble may not be working as he still needs to gain the trust of the opposition

[webfact]

 

By Erich Parpart

 

Thammanat Prompao, the convicted drug dealer who was once vying for the position of the Ministry of Interior, seems to be fumbling in every major decision he has been making ever since he quit the ruling coalition led by the Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) to form his own outfit – Setthakij Thai Party.

 

Settakij Thai Party, which translates to Thai Economic Party, has the sole aim of bringing down 2014 coup leader General Prayut Chan-ocha from power. However, the party and Thammanat continued to be aligned with the leader of PPRP, General Prawit Wongsuwon.

 

This is true until yesterday when Thammanat went to meet Prawit to bid farewell and declare himself to be with the opposition at the upcoming no-confidence debate that is slated to start tomorrow (July 19).

 

Full story: https://www.thaienquirer.com/41844/opinion-thammanats-gamble-may-not-be-working-as-he-still-needs-to-gain-the-trust-of-the-opposition/

 

-- © Copyright Thai Enquirer 2022-07-18

 

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[mahtin]

Over and out.

[kcpattaya]

Gangsters in Thai politics - nothing new

[billd766]

He and the MPs he brought with him from the PPRP are only out for themselves and are not interested in the voters that elected them,

 

They are cobras and nobody likes or wants a cobra.

 

https://www.asiasentinel.com/p/cobra-phenomenon-thailand-politics

 

Asia Sentinel Jun 5, 2019

 

The gains by Thailand’s military-backed Palang Pracharat Party in the March 2019 general election are due in part to massive election rigging and manipulation by the junta, afforded by the 2017 constitution drafted with the acquiescence of the state apparatus, particularly the Election Commission.

“Cobra” is a Thai metaphor for a politician who defies his party directives and votes for the opposing party or the opposite bench. Cash rewards for such turncoats reportedly are as high as US$1.3 million while a reward for voting for the military-nominated candidate can run to the tune of hundreds of thousands. The name “cobra,” in which politicians thus seek outright bribes to switch sides, dates back to the late 1990s.

The recent elections of the speaker and two deputy speakers of the lower house are cases in point. In the voting by secret ballot, some renegades from the pro-democratic front reportedly voted in favor of candidates nominated by the military camp.

 

There is much more in the link.

[Willy Wombat]

The pigs have no shame.

[scorecard]

But the only opposition theta would trust him would be less than credibel, less than trustworthy.

 

It's been mentioned before that politicians who are credible, honest etc., keep very clear os this convicted criminal. Also It's been reported before that when he was serving time in Australia (4 or 5 years in jail) he tried several times to bribe a judge and various officials from the penetentiary  system. 

[2baht]

How can you put Thammanat and trust in the same sentence???

[Excel]

21 minutes ago, 2baht said:

How can you put Thammanat and trust in the same sentence???

That can be applied to any political activity or person in any country. Politicians have only the sole interest of themselves anywhere with the exception of a very few.

[zzaa09]

4 hours ago, kcpattaya said:

Gangsters in Thai politics - nothing new

In fact, that's the only character that exist.

Bit of an exclusive club.

[RichardColeman]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

Thammanat Prompao, the convicted drug dealer

Beggars belief they even let this piece of detritus back into politics. I guess money talks

[Dogmatix]

Thammanart's cobra boys will earn some good money from the government again, just like in the last no confident debate.  In the stock market it's called green mail.  You take up positions to make it look like you are mounting a hostile takeover of a company, driving up the price in the process. Then at the last minute you duck out and cash out at a big profit (of course leaving small shareholders who followed holding the bag). 

 

PPRP will have to pay up big bucks just to have another 6 months in office. It's all a yawn now because it's so predictable.

[hotchilli]

17 hours ago, webfact said:

Thammanat Prompao, the convicted drug dealer who was once vying for the position of the Ministry of Interior, seems to be fumbling in every major decision he has been making ever since he quit the ruling coalition led by the Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) to form his own outfit

Trust is a hard thing to win.. but money will buy colleagues.

He'll buy a new outfit..

[hotchilli]

18 hours ago, Willy Wombat said:

The pigs have no shame.

Pigs share the same trough...

[mikebell]

'he still needs to gain the trust of the opposition' given his police record he should be a certainty for the next Thai PM.

[Nsp64]

If Thammanat can bribe, threaten and worm his way into power he will make make it his lifes work to see the current mob imprisoned or forced into exile. 

He should just about manage this before the inevitable coup to unseat him comes around.

Got rid of them all at once.

Best thing might be him winning because he will cause enough damge in the short term.

[scorecard]

1 hour ago, Nsp64 said:

If Thammanat can bribe, threaten and worm his way into power he will make make it his lifes work to see the current mob imprisoned or forced into exile. 

He should just about manage this before the inevitable coup to unseat him comes around.

Got rid of them all at once.

Best thing might be him winning because he will cause enough damge in the short term.

Some nice points but I disaagree in allowing Thammanerms the convicted criminal winning in any way. The current gov't are a total failure but Thailand should be doing better then having drug running convicts running the country.

 

 

[scorecard]

12 hours ago, hotchilli said:

Trust is a hard thing to win.. but money will buy colleagues.

He'll buy a new outfit..

Minister for the INterior a hard act to follow.