Anutin’ asks not to view ‘Paethongtarn’ as a young person sitting as Prime Minister, elevates ‘Abhisit-Sonthaya’ as ministers in their early 30s, expects politics to be stable but may face resistance from the opposite side, before preparing to set up a working group to push for cannabis as a government policy to announce to the parliament, reiterates the original quota of Bhumjaithai 4, says that 4 will help, and proposes ‘Pharadon’ to sit as Deputy Speaker of the House.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Anutin Charnvirakul, as leader of the Bhumjaithai Party, confirmed that the 71 votes of the Bhumjaithai Party will vote for Ms. Paethongtarn Shinawatra, the prime ministerial candidate of the Pheu Thai Party. In the past, the Bhumjaithai Party has not broken ranks. And yesterday, there was a joint press conference and it was clearly confirmed that it will support Ms. Paethongtarn as the 31st prime minister.
As for the news that Ms. Paethongtarn will discuss with the coalition parties about the
10,000 baht digital wallet project, Mr. Anutin said that there has been no discussion on this issue yet, but he believes that everything will proceed. When the time is right, everything will follow its timeline.
When asked if the Bhumjaithai Party had any problems with the digital wallet, Mr. Anutin said that we must support each other anyway. Between the coalition parties, what are the party’s policies? Especially now that there is a change of government, we must draft policies for the new prime minister to announce to the parliament. As for the Bhumjaithai Party, after the vote for the prime minister today, there will be an internal party meeting to set up a team to jointly draft policies with the coalition parties.
Will the Bhumjaithai Party push for a policy on cannabis? Mr. Anutin said that whatever is pending and not clear from past work, we try to make it clear. We have been working together for more than a year. We listen to each other. Whatever is not in line with the facts must be explained. For e
xample, the case of former Prime Minister Mr. Settha Thavisin, he decided that cannabis does not need to be a narcotic again. It should be issued as a controlled law. He also confirmed that it is a closer cooperation that comes from working together.
Mr. Anutin reiterated that regarding the positions of 4 ministers and 4 deputy ministers, he has already informed the core leaders of the coalition parties that the Bhumjaithai Party will not change any positions or individuals. Everything should remain the same. He has also proposed the name of Mr. Paradorn Prisananantakul, deputy party leader, for consideration to be elected as the 1st Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives.
When asked whether the situation after Paethongtarn became prime minister would be smooth, Mr. Anutin said that it should be a good continuation of work. Paethongtarn was the leader of the Pheu Thai Party throughout the previous government and had the opportunity to work and meet with coalition parties on various occasions. It is
not something that needs to be learned new. He is confident that politics will be stable and strong. We must continue working without interruption.
In the case of amending Section 112 of the Criminal Code, Mr. Anutin said that the coalition parties have expressed their stance that they will not touch Section 112. As for Mr. Thaksin Shinawatra, the former prime minister, it will proceed according to the process.
For Mr. Thaksin, has he entrusted Ms. Paethongtan with anything? Mr. Anutin said that as parents, they care about every child. He and the prime minister-elect have known each other for a long time, since Ms. Paethongtan followed Mr. Thaksin to the area, and he saw his determination.
When Ms. Paethongtarn becomes the prime minister, will she face any resistance? Mr. Anutin said that we have to look at which side it comes from. If it is the coalition government, there probably won’t be any. But if it is the side that doesn’t like the coalition government, that’s another story. But in this case, we hav
e to look at the results. We should wait for Ms. Paethongtarn to have her own results that are evident first. And if there are no results, which is now 2 years and 11 months left, the people will decide.
When asked whether a young prime minister is not a more important issue than forming a government, Mr. Anutin said that he thinks that all elements must be considered. How is age measured? Mr. Abhisit Vejjajiva, a former prime minister, was a minister for the first time at the age of about 32. Mr. Sonthaya Khunpluem was a minister for the first time at the age of 33, while he was a minister at the age of 36. At the end of the speech, Anutin also joked that he did not want to say that he was bragging about being younger.
Source: Thai News Agency