Thai prime ministerial hopeful Pita Limjaroenrat has said that he is prepared to step aside for a coalition partner in order to form the government, should he fail to become prime minister.

Moving forward

Pita announced his plans in a video posted to social media on July 15, which was reported by both Thai PBSWorld and the Bangkok Post.

First, he thanked the members of parliament and senators who had voted for him, and acknowledged the pressure that the senators had faced not to back him.

In 2019, the senate had voted as a bloc to make incumbent Prayuth Chan-o-cha the prime minister, and prior to the vote there had been questions as to whether any would vote for Pita at all, let alone the 64 he needed.

Apologising for not succeeding in the vote, he said the struggle for the "will of the people" to be heard was not just the MFP's but for all coalition parties.

Explaining that time was of the essence, Pita said that there were two "battlefronts", the selection of a prime minister on July 19, and the need to strip the senate of its power to vote on a prime minister.

This was a power that the senate was given by the military government that came to power after the 2014 coup that ousted Yingluck Shinawatra.

But should the MFP fail in either or both the "battles", the party would be prepared to step aside in favor of coalition partner Phue Thai.

Pheu Thai won 141 seats in parliament, a narrow second.

This was despite expectations that it would win the election, and with it the prime minister role for Paetongtarn Shinawatra.

Paetongtarn is the daughter and niece of two former PMs, Thaksin and Yingluck Shinawatra respectively.

A chip off the old bloc

Pita is the leader of the Move Forward Party, which surprised many by winning the recent Thai General Election with 151 seats, more than any other party.

But while he is personally very popular, his attempts to become prime minister have been stymied by a conservative upper house senate.

The MFP has formed a coalition with seven other parties, including the Phue Thai Party; this is out of a 500-seat lower house of parliament.

While the 312 seats the coalition has is enough to win a vote in the lower house, the position of prime minister is decided by a joint session of lower and upper houses of parliament.

This means that Pita needed 376 out of 700 votes, including 250 senators.

However, in a voting that took place on July 13 he only managed 324 votes, including 13 senators.

Opposition to Pita appears to center around MFP's opposition to Thailand's lese-majeste law, which prohibits and punishes any criticism of the monarchy.

MFP has vowed to reform  the law, but this has allowed some to brand the party as being anti-monarchy.

MFP and Pita have responded to the loss by saying that it is prepared to step aside in favor of fellow coalition member Phue Thai.

Real time strategy

However, there is disquiet in the coalition about the strategy, according to the Bangkok Post.

The move to remove the senate's power to select the prime minister would require 84 votes from the senate, and would likely hand the role to Pita, making its success unlikely.

One coalition party leader reportedly described the move as "selfish".

If the MFP is unsuccessful again, there is a possibility that pro-military parties in the parliament could elect a more favourable candidate instead of a coalition one, with ally of the outgoing government General Prawit Wongsuwon of the Palang Pracharath Party, being named as a likely option.

It is even possible for the the incumbent Prayuth to be elected, even though he has said that he would be retiring from politics.

The Bangkok Post also reported political analysts as saying that Phue Thai might only be able to form a government by ending its alliance with the MFP.

Pita's prospects might be further dented as the Thai Election Commission has recommended that he be disqualified from parliament.

Meat up

With the next round of PM selection slated for July 19, MFP and Phue Thai leaders are reportedly locked in negotiations over their next move.

But Pita appears to not be making many friends amongst the senators, with several complaining that the MFP has launched a "witch hunt", according to the Bangkok Post.

They alleged that the MFP have targeted senators and their families, as well as businesses run by them.

One example was captured by Khaosod, when a BBQ restaurant announced that they would not serve senators or their families as a result of their rejection of Pita.

Grill All Day, A Thai-run meat BBQ restaurant in Ratchaburi province announced on Friday they do not welcome junta-appointed senators, Election Commissioners and their children after most of them voted against PM candidate Pita Limjaroenrat on Thursday. #Thailand #ธุรกิจสว #พิธา pic.twitter.com/wQhesLeVzH

— Khaosod English (@KhaosodEnglish) July 15, 2023

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Top image via Pita Limjaroenrat/Facebook