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Speaking at a dinner he hosted to celebrate the ministerial appointments of MPs under his wing, Yongyuth said what he did on September 11 was not a means to strengthen his power base but to bring conciliation to the country.

"We cannot afford confrontations. I could see that the country would not move ahead. If we as a government commit wrongs, we will die and reach our end,'' he declared at a restaurant in Nonthaburi.

Yongyuth's faction was rewarded with several ministerial posts after he helped dilute the Friends of Newin (Chidchob) who were pushing either Samak or Surapong Suebwonglee for the PM's post.

Members of Yongyuth's bloc who were given portfolios include Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sompong Amornwiwat; Education Minister Srimuang Chareonsiri; Culture Minister Worawat Ua-apinyakul; Deputy Interior Minister Preecha Rengsomboonsuk; Deputy Commerce Minister Songkram Kijlertpairote; Deputy Transport Minister Sophon Salum and Deputy Agriculture Minister Theerachai Saenkaew.

Members from the Newin faction lost their portfolios, including Songsak Thongsri, because they had reportedly upset PM Somchai Wongsawat for lobbying other PPP MPs to vote for either Surapong or Samak and saying that if they voted for Somchai the government would be toppled in a military coup. Their reasoning was that if neither Samak nor Surapong were voted in, former PM Thaksin Shinawatra would never be able to return to the country and that the party would not have much of a future.

That is when Somchai's Chang Song La faction used Yongyuth's league to break up Newin's group and cut down its bargaining power. Yongyuth, who controls MPs in several provinces in the North and Northeast, instructed members of his group to lure MPs away from Newin.

The Friends of Newin, which was previously comprised of 72 MPs, has now been reduced to just 20 with close to no bargaining power.