Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont yesterday held a closed-door meeting with key ministers and aides at Ban Phitsanulok, creating a clearer picture on how the new Cabinet line-up will gel.

Prominent was Social Development and Human Security Minister Paiboon Wattanasiritham, who was tipped for promotion to deputy premier for social affairs.

"Yes, I met with the prime minister to discuss the integrated implementation of social policies though I'm not aware about any appointments," Paiboon said in a telephone interview with The Nation.

He said he only knew that Surayud was trying to complete the Cabinet reshuffle quickly but he was not privy to its emerging composition.

According to Government House officials, Paiboon might take over duties now assigned to Deputy Prime Minister Kosit Panpiemras, who is slated to take charge of economic affairs in the wake of Pridiyathorn Devakula's resignation.

Education Minister Wijit Srisa-an said all sides should respect the decision to re-form the Cabinet once the prime minister had made up his mind to do it.

"The government has little time left and it's not easy to recruit new ministers, who have to abandon their careers to join the Cabinet for such a brief period," Wijit said.

He said he was ready to welcome the new team, whether it came through with major or minor changes. In light of high public expectations, the government might be prematurely judged as a disappointment, he said.

"But in order to be fair, not many things can be accomplished because of the time constraints. I believe the public should judge the government for honesty and what it has done to set the country back on course with a solid foundation for future administrations to build on," he said.

Defence Minister General Boonrawd Somtas said the Council for National Security (CNS) was not involved in the Cabinet reshuffle process since this was the premier's sole responsibility.

He also believed that there would be no pressure for the government to appoint another deputy premier, for security affairs, as speculated.

"The CNS chief is already acting like the deputy premier for security matters. For instance, he is responsible for the Internal Security Operation Command," Boonrawd said.

Democrat Party deputy leader Alongkorn Pollabutr said he viewed the ministerial reshuffle as a secondary issue while the real problem was how to boost public confidence.

He said the government should focus on four priorities - restoring democratic rule, revitalising the economy, quelling the southern violence and rooting out corruption.

The government and the Election Commission should set a firm date for the general election to dispel doubts about the return of democracy.

The new deputy prime minister for economic affairs should devote full attention to leading a "dream team" to restoring business confidence. And for the last two tasks, the government should produce real achievements in re-establishing normalcy in the South and in fighting graft, Alongkorn said.