Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Monday pledged to clarify his political future after returning from the Asean-Europe summit in Belgium.
Speaking before he left for the meeting being held in Brussels until Thursday, Gen Prayut said he would discuss the matter after the trip.
Despite saying last week that he hoped to carry on in office as premier for his maximum allowable two years after the next general election, this time he kept tight-lipped about his plans.
Speculation has been rife that he will part ways with the ruling Palang Pracharath Party which backed him in the 2019 general election, and join the newly established United Thai Nation Party (UTN), also known as Ruam Thai Sang Chart.
Gen Prayut on Monday shrugged off the latest opinion poll, which showed the UTN led by Pirapan Salirathavibhaga did not stand a chance of becoming the post-election government.
Asked when he would announce his intentions, Gen Prayut said he would discuss them after the visit and that the opinion poll would not affect how he decided his political future.
The results, released by Nida Poll on Sunday, showed the Pheu Thai Party most likely to be the ruling party after the next election and gave the UTN and the PPRP slim odds of victory.
Akanat Promphan, secretary-general of the UTN, on Monday played down the poll, saying people were entitled to their own opinions, but the formation of a government depended on several factors.
"The UTN comes at a time when there will be significant changes ... I believe the party has the potential to compete in the election and win enough seats to be part of the government," he said.
In related news, Preecha Sukkasem, a potential candidate for the UTN in Songkhla, said on Monday that three PPRP MPs for the province were highly likely to defect and contest the poll under the party's banner.
Sattra Sripan, Phayom Prompetch and Arun Sawasdee would stand in constituencies 3, 4 and 5 respectively, said Mr Preecha, who ran on the Action Coalition for Thailand's (ACT) Party ticket in the previous poll.
Mr Phayom was quoted as saying that while the trio pledged allegiance to Gen Prayut, the political situation was volatile, and that could change.
The PPRP will today welcome two former Democrat politicians, Nipit Intarasombat and Anwar Salae, into its ranks, said a party source.
Mr Nipit had already left the Democrats to join the Sang Anakhot Thai Party early this year.
