Pheu Thai Up Ante In House Speaker Talks With MFP, Coalition Meeting Delayed Until Jul 2

Although Pheu Thai PM candidate Srettha Thavisin expressed confidence that the ongoing negotiations with election winner Move Forward Party over the House Speaker position will not hinder the formation of a democratic government, his colleague and incoming Pheu Thai MP Adisorn Piengkes suggested that a failure to reach agreement on the matter could affect the subsequent PM vote, without elaborating on this assessment.

• Matichon reports that leaders of the MFP-led eight-party coalition will meet on July 2 (earlier local reports mentioned June 30 as the likely date of the meeting). The meeting had originally been scheduled for Thursday.
• Note that coalition leaders will have very little time to iron out any outstanding differences. The newly elected House of Representatives will convene on July 3, while the House Speaker vote will be held the day after.
• The Thai constitution stipulates that every MP can become the House Speaker, but they cannot concurrently hold any executive posts in a political party and cannot serve as a Cabinet Ministers.
• Every MP can nominate a candidate for House Speaker, which must be seconded by at least 20 other lawmakers. If there are several candidates, lawmakers vote by secret ballot on their preferred candidate.
• Political uncertainty continued to weigh on the baht in the Asia/Europe crossover, with spot USD/THB rallying to its best levels since November 2022.