By Piyanart Srivalo
110 MPs said to want to join new party after Thaksin/reds' debacle The Pheu Thai Party has become a "sinking ship", with the red-shirt led Songkran Day mayhem backfiring on them and their big boss, the ousted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, a source from the party said.
The source said that not only has public sentiment turned against the red-clad protesters, but people are looking at the Pheu Thai Party - known as belonging to Thaksin - in a negative light.
It was reported that around 110 out of 187 part MPs were thinking of jumping ship and joining a different party for the next elections. Earlier some Pheu Thai MPs in the Northeast decided to join Newin Chidchob's Bhum Jai Thai party.
Another reason for jumping ship was that the MPs are uncertain about political direction Thaksin will take.
"We have to listen to the voice of the public, gain the upper hand and build voters' support. We don't know how far the boss will go or what the consequences will be," the source, who asked not to be named, said referring to a recent discussion among Pheu Thai MPs.
As far as they are concerned, Thaksin has a negative public image and they need to move away and look for ways to cope with the situation, the source said.
"In the past, Thaksin did not seem to care about us. The only thing he wanted was victory, without any thought of the consequences. That put us in trouble," another MP lamented.
The trouble within the party forced Thaksin to turn to his ex-wife Khunying Pojaman Damapong, another source said.
Pojaman reportedly asked MP Chaiya Sasomsap to help unify the MPs and make peace with some senior figures in the Democrat-led government under the guise of bringing about reconciliation. Chaiya is said to have close connections with Newin.
Meanwhile, former executive of the now-defunct Thai Rak Thai Party, Prommin Lertsuridej, said he had never been asked to lead the red shirts because he was not involved or interested in the movement and had no political motives even though he had been granted amnesty to enter politics.
Earlier, there were reports that Thaksin had tried to start a new strategy by using his inner-circle, consisting of "October People" like Prommin, Poomtham Vejjayachai, Chaturon Chaisaeng and Kriangkamol Laohapairoj, to create a second-generation of red-shirt leaders.
Thaksin wanted them to bring back the mass support he lost during the Songran riots and rebuild his support base. The "October People" are believed to be talented in mass politics thanks to the experience they gathered during the student uprising in October 1973.
Source: The Nation
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