Capt Thamanat Prompow’s Rift with Gen Prawit Wongsuwon: The Fallout in Palang Pracharath Party

Feathers are being ruffled and the undercurrent runs deep in the Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP), but not quite deep enough to go unnoticed. Cracks within the senior ranks of the coalition party have been visible for some time, only coming to a head when an outspoken member began chastising Srettha Thavisin while the latter was prime minister over his performance in running the country.

The PPRP is now bitterly split down the middle, with party leader Gen Prawit Wongsuwon leading one side, and party secretary-general and Caretaker Agriculture Minister Capt Thamanat Prompow leading the other. Samat Jenchaijitwanich, a former vice minister for justice, is teetering on the edge of losing his PPRP membership following a conflict with Capt Thamanat.

An observer noted that Capt Thamanat had every reason to be displeased when Wan Ubumrung fell out with the ruling Pheu Thai Party at the end of June. Mr. Wan was heavily reprimanded by Prime Minister and Pheu Thai leader Paetongtarn Shinawatra for appearing at a Provincial Administrative Organisation (PAO) chairman election in Pathum Thani on June 30 and mingling with a party opponent, Pol Lt Gen Kamronwit Toopkrajang.

Mr. Wan later quit Pheu Thai and moved to the PPRP, with Mr. Samat receiving credit for orchestrating Mr. Wan’s defection. Mr. Samat seemingly earned political points in Gen Prawit’s eyes, who reportedly placed increasing trust in Mr. Samat.

However, Capt Thamanat may not have been very enthusiastic about the PPRP’s warm welcome to Mr. Wan. Not only did Mr. Wan’s entry seem to bypass Capt Thamanat, leaving him feeling sidelined, but he also may have felt that the PPRP should have hesitated before accepting a politician accused of breaking rules and acting offensively in another coalition party. This distrust further exacerbated the internal conflict.

Additionally, Mr. Wan’s father, seasoned politician Pol Capt Chalerm Ubumrung, has challenged Pheu Thai to expel him. Pol Capt Chalerm, a Pheu Thai list MP, claimed that he also visited Pol Lt Gen Kamronwit at the close of the June 30 PAO polls and thus, like his son, should be punished by expulsion. This would enable him to retain his MP status when switching to another party.

Despite rumors about Pol Capt Chalerm applying to join the PPRP, which remain speculative, it cannot be entirely dismissed. A source close to the matter stated that Capt Thamanat still holds close ties to former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, Ms. Paetongtarn’s father and a prominent figure in Pheu Thai.

The source also indicated that Pheu Thai may hold frustration over Mr. Wan’s joining the PPRP and Mr. Samat’s criticism of Mr. Srettha. This frustration was feared to escalate to a point where Pheu Thai might contemplate ousting PPRP from the coalition and replacing it with the Democrat Party, which has now been realised as the Democrats have joined the Pheu Thai-led cabinet.

Mr. Samat’s actions reportedly ruffled Capt Thamanat’s feathers, leading to an internal call for Mr. Samat’s expulsion. The conflict reached its apex just before Pheu Thai dismissed the PPRP from the coalition this week.

While still in the government, Mr. Samat found it perplexing that neither Mr. Srettha nor Pheu Thai openly reproached or threatened legal action against him for his criticisms. “On the contrary,” he remarked, “it’s the PPRP that’s all worked up and strenuously defending the prime minister. I’m bewildered, to say the least, with what the PPRP has become. Is it Pheu Thai’s lackey?”

Earlier, Phai Lik, a PPRP MP for Kamphaeng Phet and deputy party secretary-general, posted a photo online of more than a dozen party MPs with Capt Thamanat seated in the middle, claiming they were ready to demand Mr. Samat’s expulsion.

Mr. Samat, on the other hand, mentioned that some party members were upset with him for advocating Gen Prawit’s bid for the premiership following Mr. Srettha’s dismissal as prime minister by the Constitutional Court on Aug. 14. However, any effort to push for Gen Prawit to take over as premier is as good as dead with Ms. Paetongtarn now elected by parliament to succeed Mr. Srettha. He lost the premiership over his decision to appoint ex-convict Pichit Chuenban as a PM’s Office minister in the last cabinet reshuffle, violating the charter.

For his part, Mr. Samat remained defiant. “What wrong have I committed for cheerleading Gen Prawit, our own party leader, to have a shot at being prime minister? And for this, I deserve threats to be kicked out of the party?” he questioned.

The division in the PPRP runs deeper than most might think, the source added, as Gen Prawit and Capt Thamanat had grown increasingly estranged before turning their backs on each other. Capt Thamanat recently declared it was time for him to move out and move on.

Before the fallout became public, Capt Thamanat had denied any frosty relations with Gen Prawit, amid heavy speculation he was considering quitting the PPRP ahead of the next election. His options might be either contesting the next poll with Pheu Thai or leading his own party.

Among the three “Por” generals, Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) leader Gen Prawit Wongsuwon is the only one who has remained active in politics since last year’s general election. With 40 House seats, the PPRP is the fourth-largest party in parliament, but the party’s fortunes have shifted dramatically now that MPs from the ruling Pheu Thai Party have successfully ousted the PPRP from the coalition.

Pheu Thai made it clear that they were less than pleased when the PPRP leader did not attend the vote to elect its PM candidate, Srettha Thavisin, as premier last year. His absence during the vote for Pheu Thai leader Paetongtarn Shinawatra to become prime minister on Aug. 16 appeared to be the final straw.

When Pheu Thai’s executive committee decided to remove the PPRP from the coalition this week, it may well have marked the end of Gen Prawit’s political career and the party, according to some observers.

It is widely believed that after being excluded from the government, the MPs currently loyal to Gen Prawit will gradually distance themselves from him and pursue their own agendas. Pheu Thai has had no difficulty filling the void and maintaining a majority in the House, according to these observers.

A faction led by PPRP secretary-general Thamamat Prompow with 29 MPs is eager to join the government, and Capt Thamanat has already severed ties with Gen Prawit by declaring his independence from the party. However, the 29 MPs technically remain part of the PPRP.

A group of 20 MPs from the opposition Democrat Party have switched allegiance after accepting Pheu Thai’s invitation to join the coalition. Moreover, six renegade MPs from the opposition Thai Sang Thai Party who voted for Ms. Paetongtarn to become prime minister may also be brought in to bolster support.

Stithorn Thananithichot, director of the Office of Innovation for Democracy at the King Prajadhipok’s Institute, told the Bangkok Post that it is a matter of when, not if, Capt Thamanat’s faction will be expelled from the PPRP now that the party has been pushed into the opposition.

To show loyalty to the Pheu Thai-led government, Capt Thamanat’s faction will have to defy the PPRP in a House vote, thus pressuring the party’s executive committee to take decisive action. In that event, Capt Thamanat’s group may defect to the Kla Dharma Party headed by former key PPRP member Narumon Pinyosinwat, he said.

“Capt Thamanat will have a challenging time, but for Pheu Thai, this is revenge served cold against Gen Prawit,” remarked Mr. Stithorn.

Gen Prawit cannot shake off the image of being one of the three “Por” generals who engineered the May 2014 coup that toppled the Pheu Thai-led government. According to Mr. Stithorn, Pheu Thai now has a chance to regain popularity, given the positive feedback from a recent dinner talk featuring former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Pheu Thai’s de facto leader.

The event, “Dinner Talk: Vision for Thailand 2024,” held by the Nation Group on August 22, saw Thaksin discussing a range of issues, from cash handouts to legalising casinos to saving financially ailing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Observers saw it as an indicator of the policies to expect from the Paetongtarn Shinawatra administration, which is yet to deliver its policy statement to parliament.

Many “Gen X” voters who switched from Pheu Thai to the now-dissolved Move Forward Party, which was reborn as the People Party, might revert if they believe the People Party will never effectively govern given its perceived radical political ideology.

The ruling party’s popularity is now in the hands of Thaksin and his daughter, and it is believed that Pheu Thai will conduct an opinion poll to gauge the party’s popularity after the dinner talk event, said the analyst. Ms. Paetongtarn, being Thaksin’s daughter, is in a stronger position than Mr. Srettha, who was perceived as a proxy without substantial authority. With Thaksin’s extensive experience in politics and business, the government under Ms. Paetongtarn’s leadership is likely to deliver better results than the previous Srettha administration, according to Mr. Stithorn.

“Ms. Paetongtarn doesn’t seem to mind Thaksin playing the [backseat] PM role. She doesn’t need to prove she is the real prime minister,” he stated.

However, Mr. Stithorn believes Gen Prawit will not simply step aside and fade away. Instead, the PPRP leader will seek opportunities to get even with the ruling party. Over the course of nine years when the military regime was in power, Gen Prawit is believed to have established solid connections in several public independent agencies, including the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC). Given the current political situation, Gen Prawit might have to bide his time before using these bodies against his political opponents.