The Pheu Thai Party should get the House speakership because it has more people suitable for the position than the Move Forward Party, according to Adisorn Piangket, Pheu Thai list MP-elect.
Mr Adisorn, a veteran politician, was responding to a Facebook post by Piyabutr Saengkanokkul, a member of the Progressive Movement, who said the speaker's position should go to an MP nominated by the Move Forward Party.
Mr Piyabutr and other executives of the former Future Forward party were banned from politics for 10 years after the party was dissolved by the Constitutional Court in 2020. He is, however, is regarded by many as the brains behind the Move Forward Party.
Mr Adisorn said Mr Piyabutr might take it for granted that Move Forward would command a majority in the House of Representatives. In fact, the 152 House seats won by Move Forward was still far short of 250, or half of the 500 House seats.
He said if Move Forward wanted every key position, it must first do what had been done by the former Thai Rak Thai party, which clinched 377 House seats in an election.
Pheu Thai was glad to support Move Forward leader Pita Limjaroenrat for the post of prime minister, leader of the executive branch, he said.
The House speaker, leader of the legislative branch, should be from another party in the coalition, Mr Adisorn said.
For example, Mr Adisorn said, Chuan Leekpai was appointed House speaker even though the Democrat Party did not have the most MPs in the House. Uthai Pimchaichon was once House speaker although his party had only three MPs. It all depended on suitability and timing, he added.
"By comparison, I think the Pheu Thai Party has more people suited for the post of House speaker in terms of personality," he said.
Mr Adisorn said in order to be democratic, the post of House Speaker should be decided by a vote in the House of Representatives.
"The person holding the post of House speaker should have an outstanding personality. Since Move Forward already has a young man to lead the executive branch, the party should not want to take everything for itself.
"If Move Forward remains unyielding and Pheu Thai chooses to walk away from the planned coalition, Move Forward would not be able go any further. I don't want to see this happen," Mr Adisorn warned.
On Mr Piyabutr's dissatisfaction over the amendment of Section 112 of the Criminal Code (the lese majeste law) not being included in the memorandum of understanding signed by the eight parties forming a coalition, Mr Adisorn said Mr Piyabutr should talk this matter over within the Move Forward Party.
He said Mr Piyabutr cared only about the image of Move Forward, which had emphasized this issue in its campaign, all the way to victory, and therefore did not want the party to be branded a liar.
Pheu Thai leader Cholnan Srikaew also reacted to Mr Piyabutr's Facebook post. He said all the parties involved had not, in fact, discussed the allocation of any positions, apart from prime minister.
He said the parties were concentrating on how to reach the targets that lay ahead. The first target was to get a nominee for the post of prime minister endorsed by a joint sitting of parliament. Mr Piyabutr's remark was far from being positive, and more like applying pressure, he said.
As for the post of House speaker, a decision should be reached, amicably and reasonably, in talks involving all parties concerned, Dr Cholnan said.
