The Phalang Pracharat Party (PPRP) appears to have broken into two factions after party leader Gen Prawit Wongsuwan said that Thamanat Prompao, the Party’s Secretary-General and Caretaker Agriculture Minister, will not be given a seat in the cabinet of new Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra. Thamanat subsequently threatened to leave the party and to take a number of MPs with him.

Reports were circulated over the weekend after parliament elected Paetongtarn as Prime Minister last Friday (16 August) of conflict among the government coalition and that Gen Prawit’s brother, the caretaker Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Pol Gen Phatcharavat Wongsuwan, will not be given a seat in the new Cabinet.

On Monday (19 August), Gen Prawit said in an interview on Channel 3 that his brother will remain in the same position, but PPRP’s deputy leader Santi Promphat will replace Thamanat as Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives, since Thamanat has some “limitations” that government leaders take issues with.

Caretaker Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said on Tuesday (20 August) that he has not been informed of who PPRP intends to put in the Cabinet, but PPRP should discuss among themselves and make it clear. He claimed that 3 PPRP party members have called him so far and that he did not want to meddle in their internal affairs.

Phumtham said, however, that the Pheu Thai Party did not tell government coalition parties who it wants or does not want on the Cabinet, only that they should send in a list of possible ministers so they can be vetted.

Phatcharawat, meanwhile, said he submitted his name, but is not sure whether Thamanat was included on the list and that the media should ask Santi about it. He also said he was not aware of the alleged phone call between Gen Prawit and former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, the rumour that the government coalition no longer wants the Wongsuwan brothers in the Cabinet, the alleged phone calls to Phumtham, or the reports that PPRP members are threatening to leave conflict in the party.

Santi, on the other hand, declined to be interviewed. He insisted, however, that there is no conflict in the party.

Thamanat told reporters ahead of a caretaker cabinet meeting on Tuesday (20 August) that he was not aware of the situation in the party and that he is not fighting anyone. He said, however, that he has served one person enough during the past 6 years and it is time to leave. When asked if he has spoken to Gen Prawit, Thamanat said that there is no point in talking when Gen Prawit does not want to use him anymore.

Gen Prawit, meanwhile, summoned PPRP party leaders to meet him at the headquarters of the Five Provinces Bordering Forest Preservation Foundation, after cancelling a meeting at PPRP party headquarters. It was reported that he ordered party registrar Gen Krityothin Sasipattanawong to call each MP to check who will be in his faction. 25 MPs apparently said they are still aligned with Gen Prawit, but five people on the list were also named on a list of MPs Thamanat said are following him.

Thamanat held another press conference in the afternoon at the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, after having lunch with 22 PPRP MPs. He said that 29 of PPRP’s 40 MPs are joining him in the government coalition, along with 5 other MPs from smaller parties. He also said that he has sent a list of possible ministers from his faction.

Thamanat said that his faction will stay members of PPRP unless they are expelled, but will vote in line with the rest of the government coalition. He said he believes several PPRP MPs are waiting to see how things turn out, but noted that no one wants to be in the opposition.

It was reported yesterday morning (21 August) that the party has split into two factions: 26 MPs are aligned with Thamanat, while 14 are aligned with Gen Prawit. While MPs from Gen Prawit’s faction said that they will hold a press conference later today, MP Pai Lik said that Thamanat’s faction has completed its discussion with the government coalition but has not discussed which Cabinet seat they will receive. It was also reported that Thamanat requested three Cabinet seats for his faction: a deputy Prime Minister, agriculture minister, and deputy agriculture minister.