PAD may form a political party

PAD leader Sondhi Limthongkul is believed to be spearheading the party formation. He has recruited Democrat MP and PAD co-leader Somkiart Pongpaibul to assist him.

The seed money for the party might come from Bt1 billion to Bt3 billion in public contributions for PAD-led street protests.

Sondhi reportedly wants to work in mainstream politics to try to revamp the system.

Academic and PAD ally Chai-anan Samudvanija wrote an article on Sunday calling for the PAD to set up a party in the political system after ending its street protests. His note was posted on an online edition of ASTV Manager newspaper.

Chai-anan said public contributions would have been wasted if the PAD failed to push for political changes as desired by their supporters.

He urged PAD leaders to build on the mass movement drawn together by the street protests and turn it into a genuine party.

The PAD supporters were well organised and had shared ideas, and displayed better infrastructure support than many existing parties, he said.

He suggested the new party focus on implementing political changes rather than seeking power, that it should aim to win 50 to 80 House seats in the East, the Central region and Bangkok.

PAD leaders are reportedly weighing the pros and cons of forming a party.

One of the drawbacks is the party is expected to share a similar strongholds to the Democrat Party, which might confuse voters.

The other reservation is the party might not become a key voice in politics due to its narrow base of support. And being a small party may cause it to lose popularity if they were seen to have only a limited impact in the political arena.