Dems pledge to stand by govt for now

The 24 Democrat Party MPs who backed Deputy Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Thamanat Prompow in last month’s no-confidence vote reaffirmed their support for the government yesterday.

The Democrat Party will stick to a resolution committing itself to the coalition government, but could review this stance if an investigation into the surgical mask hoarding and exporting scandal incriminates Capt Thamanat, the party’s chief whip Chinnaworn Boonyakiat said.

Capt Thamanat is facing allegations that a close aide of his was involved in hoarding and illegally exporting surgical masks, which prompted a number of Democrats to call for the party to leave the coalition.

The 24 Democrat MPs yesterday held a meeting to discuss the current political situation and agreed to stand by the party resolution to stay in the coalition until any formal change in policy says otherwise, he said.

They also urged all Democrat MPs to make sure opinions expressed publicly are in line with the party’s resolution, in order to avoid misunderstandings with coalition partners, he said.

Those Democrats calling on the party to leave the coalition would be encouraged to respect party rules and policies.

The party has yet to call a meeting to review its previous resolution and would wait for the results of a formal investigation into the surgical mask controversy, he said.

Asked to say whether the Democrat Party thinks the government has been tarnished by the mask controversy, Mr Chinnaworn said: “It would not be right to give any subjective opinion right now.”