Senior coalition leaders discuss strategy over dinner

Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra will host a dinner meeting for coalition party leaders on Friday to discuss how to deal with the likely parliamentary debate next Monday, Tourism and Sports Minister Sorawong Thienthong said.

Mr Sorawong, who is also a secretary-general of the Pheu Thai Party, said on Sunday that after the coalition dinner on Feb 25, party leaders agreed to hold another discussion after the debate schedule was confirmed.

He said that the premier is willing to respond to all questions, and issue clarifications based on information that, where appropriate, ministers who oversee those areas will step in and provide greater clarity.

Asked if the opposition would be able to creatively use Thaksin’s name in other ways, he said it would be up to the speaker to determine whether the opposition were in violation of the rule on talking about outsiders.

The discussion should be finished by Wednesday, added Mr Sorawong.

The opposition first proposed five full days without consulting the coalition, before then suggesting 30 hours — 20 hours for the opposition and 10 for the coalition to respond — but both were rejected, Mr Sorawong said.

Later that day, the government chief whip gave the opposition 23 hours and the government 7 hours to make their case, but the leader of the opposition refused to align with that plan, he said. Anyway, in his opinion, these were long hours to do these things.

Meanwhile, Anusorn Iamsa-ard, a Pheu Thai Party-list MP, stated Wednesday that the government has made attempts at compromise, but that it was the opposition who refused to yield on the matter of the censure debate period.

If no agreement is reached, Mr Anusorn said, it might not be possible to schedule the debate in time for the closing of the parliamentary session on April 10.

Wisut Chainarun, a Pheu Thai list-MP, stated the government will provide the opposition no more than 23 hours for the debate. The final decision on the possible use of an alternative name instead of Thaksin would also depend on the House Speaker, he said.