Why dispute over House speaker could decide Thailand’s political future

[webfact]

 

The eight-party coalition’s bid to form Thailand’s next government is threatened by a dispute between its two leaders – Move Forward and Pheu Thai – over the House Speaker’s seat.

 

Both parties are well aware of the crucial roles that the Speaker, who heads the legislature, plays in Parliament and Thai politics.

 

The coalition is scheduled to meet on Tuesday, when the question of which party will get the coveted House Speaker’s seat is expected to top the agenda.

 

Efforts to resolve the disagreement came after Move Forward leader and prospective prime minister Pita Limjaroenrat proposed that both parties negotiate to settle their differences, as the growing dispute threatens his increasingly fragile coalition.

 

Multiple roles and powers

 

The speaker of the House of Representatives also serves as president of Parliament, comprising both the Senate and the Lower House.

 

Full story: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/why-dispute-over-house-speaker-could-decide-thailands-political-future/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2023-05-30

 

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[JoePai]

Whichever party had the most votes gets to choose - easy  ????

[bannork]

There's a distinct possibility Pita will be suspended and then banned, so MF will lose the premiership.

Thus the least they can do is demand the House Speaker's position 

[harada]

Thailand’s future, political or otherwise will be decided from far away, and unfortunately it will probably be more of the same same.

[hotchilli]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

The eight-party coalition’s bid to form Thailand’s next government is threatened by a dispute between its two leaders – Move Forward and Pheu Thai – over the House Speaker’s seat.

There is no dispute, only media hype.

MFP won the race, they get to choose.

[Will B Good]

Simple compromise would solve this........neither of the big two have the speaker.........choose a well respected member from a smaller party on the condition they act without fear or favour.

[h90]

4 hours ago, JoePai said:

Whichever party had the most votes gets to choose - easy  ????

only if they are over 50%. Else the consensus between all coalition partner will decide....as the majority in parliament does the voting.

[h90]

2 minutes ago, Will B Good said:

Simple compromise would solve this........neither of the big two have the speaker.........choose a well respected member from a smaller party on the condition they act without fear or favour.

That would be reasonable but where is the profit?

[h90]

4 hours ago, bannork said:

There's a distinct possibility Pita will be suspended and then banned, so MF will lose the premiership.

Thus the least they can do is demand the House Speaker's position 

OK that can be avoided by giving the prime minister job to PTP and the speaker to MF

[h90]

22 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

There is no dispute, only media hype.

MFP won the race, they get to choose.

The speaker is voted in the parliament by the majority there (if it is the same here). That means the coalition needs to find a consensus. It is not the MF got elected to be dictator. They need coalition partners. There are other coalitions without MF possible so they have to please everyone (at least the second strongest). The red shirts start already to call the MF names for not sharing.

[crazykopite]

Let’s not fool ourselves the PM is already chosen nothing changes it will be the guy who vacated the seat prior to the election 

[billd766]

5 hours ago, JoePai said:

Whichever party had the most votes gets to choose - easy  ????

IMHO the easiest solution would be for neither to get the post but pass it to the next coalition party.

 

As a simple alternative  MFP and PTP take 2 year turns, and the toss of a coin decides who goes first.

 

Are either of those options too much like common sense?

[Denim]

How about a Muay Thai bout  to decide the issue , each party choosing its champion. 

 

Could not possibly make the proceedings any less dignified than they already are.

[ThaiFelix]

7 hours ago, harada said:

Thailand’s future, political or otherwise will be decided from far away, and unfortunately it will probably be more of the same same.

Yes Sir Les, I agree,  The peoples votes may have been cast and counted but the big decision will come from elsewhere.  Early days still.

[dinsdale]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

Both parties are well aware of the crucial roles that the Speaker, who heads the legislature, plays in Parliament and Thai politics.

Well make of this sentence what you will (underlined) but (bold) just how crucial is the role. Unless Thailand is different the Speaker of the House doesn't have a vote and is meant to be neutral.

[Eric Loh]

Perhaps the compromise could be that MFP gets house speakership while the 2 deputy speakers from PTP.

[Purdey]

I think, and correct me if I am wrong, the speaker can be changed every year to give both key parties the position. However, I suspect no one wants it for the honor alone.

[zzaa09]

8 hours ago, harada said:

Thailand’s future, political or otherwise will be decided from far away, and unfortunately it will probably be more of the same same.

These have been my firm thoughts as well. 

Though, I suspected there might be possibilities of an inkling of a true change up and a related era to come.

 

As I ponder more and recognize what's being lamented with this mess of contradictions this last week, I find nothing really is gonna change whatsoever. 

 

The song remains the same.

A sad state for Thai folks. 

[Eric Loh]

1 hour ago, Purdey said:

I think, and correct me if I am wrong, the speaker can be changed every year to give both key parties the position. However, I suspect no one wants it for the honor alone.

The speaker can be change after every Parliamentary session but hardly happened. 

[thailand49]

????Now I see why this country is in constant fighting!  

[Srikcir]

3 hours ago, Eric Loh said:

Perhaps the compromise could be that MFP gets house speakership while the 2 deputy speakers from PTP.

I think you're close.

But there's more options. Such as:

• MFP gets PM and Speaker
• PTP gets Deputy PM (Prawit's old job) 
• PTP gets Minister of Finance and Defence
• Remainder Cabinet positions goes to remainder coalition parties