Paetongtarn stays hopeful, urges coalition unity

Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra told members of the coalition parties on Tuesday night that she is optimistic that she will return to perform her duties as prime minister.

Addressing cabinet members and key members of the coalition parties at a dinner party, hosted by the Pheu Thai party, Paetongtarn said that, during the past year under her premiership, the government has encountered multiple challenges, including a global economic slowdown, US tariff measures, external security threats and political turmoil.

She said that she is confident that her government can weather all these storms, if all the coalition parties are united.

Although she was suspended from performing her duties as the prime minister by the Constitution Court, she said never once has she abandoned her obligation to the people because “I am still the culture minister and can be useful to the people.”

Her father, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who attended the event, told the gathering that he feels young again, like he was about 51 years ago when he first entered politics working for then PM’s Office Minister Preeda Pattanathabutr in the government of then prime minister M.R. Kukrit Pramoj.

Former PM Thaksin Shinawatra

He said that he is the kind of person who perceives a problem as a challenge, adding that one major challenge for the government today is the coalition’s slim majority in parliament. To make the government stable, he said all the coalition parties must stay united and stick together in the same government after the next general election.

The former prime minister said he is now unemployed and is ready to help out and offer advice, if there are any ministers or MPs who need his help.

He went on to say that he wishes to tour Thailand, to find out if there are still major drug dealers around, adding that he has recommended that the government treat the drug problem as top priority.

He also urged the government to reverse the decriminalisation of cannabis, claiming that it is a social threat and discourages tourists from visiting Thailand, citing the case of an Indian woman who died after eating a piece of brownie which contained the herb.

Photo: Leaders of coalition parties pose for a photo opportunity during the dinner party.