Pita Limjaroenrat, leader of the Move Forward Party (MFP), has discussed the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the formation of the government, stating that crafting an agreement amongst coalition parties was the bare minimum for a joint mandate.
He clarified that MFP has more than 300 policies, from the 23 points of shared mandates to several unique agendas that will be driven through administrative mechanisms. Pita – if endorsed as Thailand’s 30th Prime Minister – is responsible for managing these agendas, with ministers from his party working to implement them across various ministries. Even if a particular policy falls outside their direct control, they will work with the coalition government to bring about necessary changes.
Pita noted that with 152 representatives in the legislature, MFP can bring laws to the table for discussion and use legislative mechanisms to push important issues such as those related to clean water and gender prefixes and suffixes.
He added that his government would continue to meet with the public and invite other coalition partners to attend in the interest of implementing shared policies. The appointment of key positions such as the speaker of the house and cabinet members will also be carefully considered.
The MFP leader insisted that the current state of economic instability is linked to political uncertainty and the ability of election winners to form a government as a consequence of the 2017 Constitution.
In addition to these points, Pita cited the transition team’s talks with the Thai Chamber of Commerce. He said multiple key issues were discussed, such as improving Thailand’s competitiveness, supporting small and medium enterprises (SMEs), aligning the workforce with national needs, and increasing the minimum wage to match inflation or GDP growth.
To help ease the burden of rising costs and low wages, Pita affirmed the Move Forward Party’s commitment to raising the minimum wage to 450 baht per day. However, he also acknowledged the considerations of employers and business owners, including those related to social security contributions and the possibility of making a double increase in the minimum wage tax-deductible over two years or implementing tax cuts for SMEs. (NNT)
