Democrats eager to govern

Last week the Democrats demanded parliament be dissolved for new elections. Now they demand parliament meet in emergency session on Monday to pick their leader Abhisit Vejjajiva as the youngest Thai prime minister ever.

Abhisit Vejjajiva

Democrat party leaders spent Sunday gathering names of Members of Parliament on a petition for the House of Representatives to meet urgently and annoint Mr Abhisit. The 44-year-old has long been groomed by the party as prime minister, and his chance has come.

Parliament has 480 seats, but 39 are vacant, with the rest spread among two big and five smaller parties - and factions within them. A coalition must have at least 221 seats to establish a majority and form a government.

Counts varied and were both partisan and unreliable.

Democrat Party Secretary-General Suthep Thuagsuban said on Sunday the party and defectors from the Thaksin-Puea Thai camp have 260 seats. Surapong Tovichakchaikul, a Puea Thai MP, claimed his party could assemble at least 226 MPs into a coalition.

"If the Democrat Party forms the government, I will try to boost confidence and revive the tourism industry and the image of the country," said Mr Abhisit on Sunday.

Democrat party sources said they wanted the House to convene on Monday morning, because they had enough votes from smaller parties to put together a coalition and form a government.

They needed the signatures of at least one third of all MPs in the House to submit to the House Speaker and force him to call an extraordinary session of Parliament for that purpose on Monday.

At the moment, a caretaker government is in charge. The Constitution Court last Tuesday dissolved the ruling People Power party and dismissed premier Somchai Wongsawat by banning him from public office for five years.

After a Sunday afternoon meeting of party executives and MPs, Democrat spokesman Buranaj Smutharaks told a press conference that the meeting agreed to the Democrat Party forming a new government and assigned party secretary-general Suthep Thaugsuban to gather names for the petition to House Speaker Chai Chidchob.

It was Chai's son Newin Chidchob who broke the back of support for the People Power party (now known as Puea Thai) by taking his 37-member Friends of Newin faction across the parliamentary aisle to support Mr Abhisit and the Democrats.

The Puea Thai party appeared increasingly isolated in its loyalty to fugitive ex-premier Thaksin.

The spokesman said the party was concerned about "rumours" that the army had a hand in setting up the new coalition government. This tarnished both the army's image and that of the parties, he complained.

Mr Buranaj claimed that the army was not involved in any process and the party has held to its values of not doing anything unlawful, unconstitutional or otherwise inappropriate in a democratic system.

But the "rumours" were actually already front-page media reports, and they said otherwise.

Political sources said Gen Anupong personally conducted secret political talks, and personally coordinated the key meetings last Friday involving Mr Newin, the leaders of the coalition parties and the Democrats. (with agency reports)