House Speaker Contest A Three-Horse Race; Thai Special

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SPECIAL

House speaker contest a three-horse race

By The Nation

The contest for the post of speaker of the House of Representatives is set to take place as soon as newly elected MPs convene their first meeting, possibly early next month.

In a long-held tradition, the House speaker comes from the political party with the most seats in the Lower House. This time the honour will go to the Pheu Thai Party.

Normally, the posts of the two deputy speakers go to the second- and third-largest coalition parties. However, with Pheu Thai winning a majority of 265 in the 500-seat House and the second- and third-largest coalition parties much smaller, all three seats are expected to be assumed by the party's politicians.

Three Pheu Thai politicians are expected to contest for the post of House speaker: former deputy speakers Somsak Kiatsuranont and Apiwan Wiriyachai and former chief whip for the opposition, Witthaya Buranasiri.

Somsak was known as "Khun Kon" ("Gavel Master") while serving as deputy House speaker in the late 1990s. He often brandished a small mallet while chairing House meetings and used it to warn wayward lawmakers against violating meeting regulations.

A leader of a small faction of Northeastern politicians, Somsak has won the support of key party figures due to his good image - possibly the best among the three leading candidates.

He served as culture minister in the government of Samak Sundaravej and justice minister in the government of Somchai Wongsawat. Both administrations were considered proxies of fugitive ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

Somsak also won cross-party support for his adherence to rules and regulations and ability to ensure order during House meetings. However, he was not the darling of Parliament officials due to his hot temper and business-like management style.

Apiwan has the support of many Pheu Thai MPs-elect, particularly those linked to the red-shirt movement. For this reason the party leadership does not see him as a good choice for reconciliation efforts.

He was first elected as MP in 1996 for the New Aspiration Party. He later joined Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai Party and then the People Power Party (PPP) after the first party was dissolved by court order.

With support from many red shirts in the PPP, Apiwan became the second deputy speaker in the previous House of Representatives and managed to retain the seat even after the Democrat Party rose to power and Pheu Thai became the opposition.

He actively took part in the red shirts' anti-government rallies in 2009 and 2010.

Apiwan was often accused of bias and failing to abide by the rules and regulations while chairing House meetings. A group of Democrat MPs launched a signature campaign seeking his impeachment. However, many parliamentary officials appeared to admire him for his patience and prudence.

Witthaya served as chief coalition whip when PPP was in government and chief opposition whip when Pheu Thai was in opposition. However, due to his lack of experience in managerial posts, he is viewed as having only a small chance of becoming the next House speaker.

He was first elected as MP from Ayutthaya in 2001 and has been re-elected in subsequent polls. While serving as chief whip, both in the coalition and the opposition, he won acceptance from both sides for his skill in coordinating and ability to strike difficult deals.

-- The Nation 2011-07-15