<![CDATA[A week before Thailand's parliament opens, Future Forward's Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit launches uphill bid to be prime minister]>
The unexpected announcement this week by upstart politician Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, who threw his hat into the ring to be prime minister, has added yet another twist in junta-ruled Thailand's long road towards a civilian government.
Although the first democratically-elected parliament since the 2014 coup is set to open next week, it remains to be seen which of the two main rival factions will govern.
In the latest development, Thanathorn " whose millennial-friendly Future Forward Party came in third in the March 24 election " said on Thursday he was ready to lead a new coalition, after the seven-piece anti-junta bloc he was part of struggled to agree on a ruling pact.
The announcement by the 40-year-old billionaire entrepreneur was a U-turn from his firm stance against becoming prime minister, and comes as his legal woes " including criminal charges supporters say are trumped up by the junta " pile up.
The March election pitted the pro-junta Palang Pracharat party against various anti-junta parties, including one-year-old Future Forward " which joined six other parties to form a coalition bloc named the "Democratic Front" after the polls.
Final results released last week showed junta chief Prayuth Chan-ocha's side had secured enough seats in the 500-seat legislature to make him prime minister.
Junta chief Prayuth Chan-ocha. Photo: Reuters
The pro-military faction has the backing of 126 MPs, meaning it will be able to garner a simple majority in the bicameral 750-seat National Assembly to support Prayuth " with the help of 250 pro-junta senators who, along with MPs, each have a vote on who gets the top job.
To overcome Prayuth's bloc, the Democratic Front, which won 245 lower house seats, needs to court medium-sized parties such as the Democrat Party and the Bhumjaithai Party.
However that has not happened, due in part to an antagonistic relationship between Pheu Thai " the Democratic Front's biggest party " and the smaller parties.
Reaction to Thanathorn offering himself up as prime minister has been mixed.
Political scientist Titipol Phakdeewanich, of Ubon Ratchathani University, suggested that with the scales tipped so far towards Prayuth's favour, the move was symbolic.
"It was a symbolic announcement of Future Forward's political stance, especially after the senate was endorsed [by the king]," the professor said.
Pheu Thai party leader Sudarat Keyuraphan. Photo: AP
It was unclear if Thanathorn had the support of Pheu Thai, with local media issuing conflicting reports.
The Democrat Front's initial stance had been that Pheu Thai leader Sudarat Keyuraphan would be its prime ministerial candidate.
Meanwhile, the Democrat Party and Bhumjaithai " which have a total of 103 MPs " have reportedly teamed up to increase their leverage to gain ministerial positions. The leaders of both parties have yet to commit to either of the rival blocs, saying they would do so next week, the Bangkok Post reported.
Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva. Photo: AFP
On social media, some citizens and Thailand observers slammed the parties for being opportunistic.
"Clearly these two parties have no real ideology or moral compass and are only holding out to see which side will give them the most lucrative offer. Shameless," wrote City University of Hong Kong researcher James Buchanan on Twitter.
Ahead of next week's parliament opening, Thanathorn's legal woes could yet escalate, after the Palang Pracharat accused him of defamation during a speech to foreign correspondents on Wednesday.
Thanathorn had alleged that Palang Pracharat proxies had approached his mother with an offer of wiping clean his pending court cases in exchange for gifting the pro-junta party 20 MPs.
A Palang Pracharat party spokesman said on Friday that Thanathorn was "lying through his teeth", and accused him of playing the "dirtiest political trick ever".
The country's parliament will sit on Wednesday to elect a speaker, before it is formally opened by King Maha Vajiralongkorn next Friday.
This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
Copyright (c) 2019. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
