Cabinet Posts Decided, Move Forward May Not Lead Opposition

The new government is still organising its structure but progress has been made and the cabinet should be announced soon. But 60% of Thais surveyed in a NIDA poll are against Pheu Thai cooperating with pro-military parties. USDTHB has come under pressure since its low last Thursday following the election of the new PM Srittha which ended 3-months of political uncertainty. It is up 1.2% since then to 35.23 whereas the USD index is up only 0.7%.

• PM Srettha has announced that the cabinet posts have been confirmed from his point of view but did not name names. There has been significant speculation over whether the defence minister will be a civilian from Pheu Thai or from the military. PM Srettha is also expected to take the finance portfolio. According to the Bangkok Post, Pheu Thai is likely to have 16 ministers, Bhumjaithai 8, the military-aligned PPRP and UTN 4 each and Charttahipattana 1 and Prachachat 1.
• Move Forward has said that they won’t take on the official role as leader of the opposition in order to keep the position of deputy House speaker. But House speaker Wan has said that the party needs to make its position formal so that it can be passed on to the next largest party, the Democrat Party. But this party is facing serious internal dissent, which means there is a chance the opposition leader could come from a party with only one seat.