"I told my party's members not to propose me as the next premier. I don't want to be. I don't want to put lice into my head," Banharn said yesterday.

Banharn said he had talked about bringing about reconciliation in the country with Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva and Mahachon Party leader Sanan Kachornprasart, but he had no idea whether it will work.

"Don't rush. It takes quite some time. But I think everyone wants to see reconciliation in our country," said Banharn, adding that it was not an easy task, as all sides had to leave their conflicts behind.

Caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra asked Banharn at a dinner last Thursday to help him to coordinate with the other two opposition parties to bring about reconciliation.

"From now on, I won't talk about or eat shark-fin soup [which he had with Thaksin] any more. Actually we ate other kinds of food, not only shark-fin soup," he said.

Banharn was criticised after the dinner for tending to be on Thaksin's side.

Earlier Banharn had declined to say whether the three opposition parties would throw their support behind Abhisit as the next premier following a working lunch attended by the parties on Monday.