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Published on August 22, 2007

A possible alliance of political groups and smaller parties appeared shaky yesterday as the leader of one possible group of allies distanced his party from the deal.

The increased jockeying among politicians came as Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont reiterated that December 23 was the most appropriate day for general elections.

Commenting during his official visit to Malaysia, the premier said the date offered sufficient time for politicians to campaign and appropriate leeway for officials to hold the election after His Majesty the King's birthday celebrations on December 5.

Pracharaj Party leader Snoh Thienthong yesterday likened the collapse of his alliance with the Matchima and Ruam Jai Thai groups to a political "offside trap".

"Instead of sealing a deal first, Matchima held a press conference on a planned alliance, causing much confusion among Pracharaj supporters," he said.

Snoh ruled out the possibility of dissolving his party in order to join a newly-formed party. He said that before the August 19 referendum, he had had a series of talks with key figures from the two factions, including Somkid Jatusri-pitak, Somsak Thepsuthin and Pradit Pataraprasit.

"Initially, I saw a great possibility for an alliance but later things changed because Somkid and Somsak were banned from the electoral process for five years due to the electoral fraud verdict."

He said the alliance, as initially discussed, would have included the Saman Chan Group, led by Suwat Liptapanlop, Suwit Khunkitti, Pinij Charusombat and Preecha Laohapongchana.

Meanwhile, Pradit said the two factions would go ahead and form a new party aimed at becoming a third choice for voters.

He expected the party registration process to commence some time next week in order to allow time to gather supporters from other groups.

Pradit admitted to having planned to recruit the Saman Chan Group and Maha-chon, the party led by Sanan Kachorn-prasart, to join his banner.

He was optimistic that his colleagues Somkid and Somsak would eventually convince Snoh to be part of the alliance.

"Snoh wants his Pracharaj Party to be the shell for the new party, but I don't think the naming issue should be overblown," he said, adding party leaders would be sorted out after the registration process was done.

The soon-to-be-formed party would welcome former MPs as well as aspiring candidates to contest the elections under its banner, he said.

As a rule of thumb, some 30 per cent of former MPs usually fail to get re-elected, so there was plenty of room for new-comers, he said.

Meanwhile, the Bangkok 50 Group, led by Suranand Vejjajiva and Kunthon Prachuabmoh, announced it would decide in two weeks whether to join the new party.

In a related development, veteran politician Samak Sundaravej said yesterday he was not surprised that the political alliance was being formed to counter the People Power Party, which has been taken over by former MPs from the disbanded Thai Rak Thai Party.

Samak joined People Power recently and has been touted as a possible party leader.

"The plot to completely eliminate the TRT has proved a failure, so they have come up with a new plan. Over the past 10 months they have tried to get rid of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, and they want Thai Rak Thai to become extinct. But the seeds are alive and growing strong," Samak said, referring to the junta.

He said the junta was behind the formation of a political alliance in order to prevent splinter groups from the Thai Rak Thai reuniting.

Also yesterday, former Senate speaker Suchon Chaleekrua made a surprise move by applying for the leadership of a party slated for disbandment.

In his application, Suchon also requested a name change from the Rak Phandinthai Party to Thai Ruam Thai Party, the name originally planned by the disbanded Thai Rak Thai Party before deciding on People Power Party.

"I am surprised by the request for Thai Ruam Thai, although I don't suspect a scheme to use the name to prevent others from using it later," Election Commission (EC) member Sodsri Satayatham said.

Sodsri said the EC was obliged to complete its review of Suchon's application within 30 days.

Should the party be dissolved because of the ongoing litigation on electoral fraud, then its old and new names would not be allowed to be re-used, she said.

Yesterday seven new parties applied to register with the EC, which is designated as the party registrar. The process is expected to be completed within 30 days.

The seven new groups were Naew Sangkhom, Nam Withee, Chong Mee Siam, Puang Prachatham, Satree Thai, Thaitham and Chat Pattana.

The registration of Chat Pattana is meant to revive the party after it became a faction of Thai Rak Thai in a merger.

Political newcomer Piyawat Limpabhandhu said he wanted to carry on the party's legacy involving his father Prapas Limpabhandhu as one of the founders.

He denied speculation he revived Chat Pattana as a campaign option for Saman Chan group leader Suwat Liptapanlop. Suwat was the party leader before joining the former ruling party.