Democrats Disappointed With New Cabinet

Democrats disappointed with new cabinet

BANGKOK: -- Senior members of the opposition Democrat Party have expressed their disappointment at the new cabinet line-up.

They likened the new cabinet to "an old wine in an old bottle".

Although a number of non-MPs have been included in the new cabinet, most of them represent the major financiers of the ruling Thai Rak Thai (TRT) Party, the Democrat Party's deputy leader, Wittaya Kaewparadai, said on Friday.

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra had raised public hopes that the new cabinet would be different from the past.

"Generally speaking, there's not much change. This is not an old wine in a new bottle. It's an old wine in an old bottle," the opposition MP said.

The opposition will work hard and closely scrutinise the cabinet, the MP promised.

There is nothing exciting about the new cabinet line-up, as the prime minister appeared to fully control their selection, said another Democrat Party executive, Sathit Wongnongtoei.

The fact that many ministers in the previous government were reappointed indicated that Mr. Thaksin also was trying to appease all the political factions in his party, he said.

"The opposition is going to scrutinise the cabinet members to see if they serve the nation in a transparent way and are without suspicion of any conflict of interest," said Mr. Sathit.

--TNA 2005-03-12