Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has confirmed a cabinet reshuffle is not on the cards after she sailed through a no-confidence motion, securing overwhelming support from lawmakers in parliament on Wednesday.
Speaking after winning the vote by 319 to 162 with seven abstentions, she said she had no plans to reshuffle the cabinet any time soon.
Asked whether she would take advice from her father and former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra in the event coalition parties lobbied him for a cabinet shake-up, she said she was open to listening to opinions.
Ms Paetongtarn added that before the censure debate, she had told Thaksin that she would not reshuffle the cabinet any time soon, to which her father responded: “That’s okay.”
The coalition government is functioning smoothly, she said, adding that additional documents would be made available on social media platforms to clarify the information she presented during the censure debate.
Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut, leader of the opposition People’s Party, said the information presented during the censure debate would be used as evidence to request investigations by independent agencies, such as the National Anti-Corruption Commission.
“We hope that after the opposition presented this information, the prime minister’s family will pay their taxes properly,” he said.
The censure debate took place on Monday and Tuesday, with Mr Natthaphong opening the session by accusing the prime minister of lacking the ability to govern, evading taxes, and allowing her father to exert political influence.
It was agreed before the debate that Thaksin’s name would not be mentioned, so the debate contained numerous references to “a family member” and “an outsider”
Opposition MPs argued that the Paetongtarn government had failed to address key issues, including high electricity costs and low farm prices, and had pushed ahead with its expensive cash handout policy despite warnings it would not effectively stimulate the economy.
The opposition also cited instances where they claimed the prime minister had given either irrelevant or incorrect responses to reporters and interviewers. One example was Ms Paetongtarn’s comment that a strong baht would benefit Thai exports. They also claim she avoided questions on critical economic issues.
Opposition MPs further claimed her coalition government was unlawfully influenced by he who could not be named. They even questioned whether the prime minister had misled the public about her father’s health.
Thaksin had been declared seriously ill and was allowed to stay in a private ward at Police General Hospital instead of serving his sentence in prison. The opposition also raised concerns over the family's ownership of land including the Alpine golf resort in Pathum Thani and a luxury resort at Khao Yai.
