Bangkok: Anutin Charnvirakul expressed surprise at how quickly time has passed, marking the one-year anniversary of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the People's Party. He affirmed that it was not a mistake but a joint agreement to find a solution for the country. He acknowledged that it was the People's Party that broke its promise by adding conditions and rushing to dissolve parliament.
According to Thai News Agency, Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Anutin Charnvirakul, in his capacity as leader of the Bhumjaithai Party, gave an interview regarding the one-year anniversary of the MOA between the Bhumjaithai Party and the People's Party. The Prime Minister exclaimed, "Is it today already? I never thought so! Time flies!"
Regarding the People's Party's claim that it was a mistake, Mr. Anutin stated, "No, it wasn't a mistake. How could it be? Because on that day, both parties worked together to find a solution for the country. The Bhumjaithai Party and the People's Party supported each other. The main principle of the People's Party was to amend the constitution, and we followed everything they said. But they added more conditions later. They thought that because they had a minority government, they could exert pressure however they wanted, even beyond the MOA. But we saw that the MOA only had five points, and we adhered to it."
Mr. Anutin stated that since at that time they wanted something beyond what the MOA said-that the parliament should be dissolved on January 31, 2026-we agreed. However, the People's Party requested a postponement to January 15, which we also agreed to. Then, they requested another postponement to December 31, 2025, which we were still okay with.
Then, a request was made to amend the conditions regarding the constitutional amendment, which was beyond our control: curtailing the power of the Senate. They said it was the responsibility of the Bhumjaithai Party to coordinate with the Senate. So, I asked what the Bhumjaithai Party would use to coordinate that, and the People's Party said that if they didn't comply, they would submit a no-confidence motion.
'We need to rewind the tape and play it clearly to show that the leader of the People's Party was the one who told the Prime Minister-that I-to dissolve Parliament on that day. Reporters tend to forget this and then ask if I made a mistake. That's not true at all. The one who made the mistake was the People's Party, which didn't adhere to the MOA, didn't keep its promises, and pressured the Prime Minister. If he didn't dissolve Parliament, there would only be a few hours left to submit a no-confidence motion. Everything was according to the words of the People's Party leader on December 12th. He told me to dissolve Parliament because if I didn't, I wouldn't have another opportunity. I dissolved it as he instructed. So where could there be any mistake? If there is, it comes from the People's Party, not the Bhumjaithai Party,' said Mr. Anutin.
Regarding the statement by Parit Wacharasindhu, a list MP and deputy leader of the People's Party, that signing a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Bhumjaithai Party was a mistake that led to the People's Party's defeat in the last election, Anutin Charnvirakul retorted, "Did Mr. Aitim say that? I don't know, because Mr. Aitim didn't sign it. Mr. Aitim wasn't involved. When we negotiated with the People's Party, I didn't see Mr. Aitim in the equation or the picture at all. Therefore, I can't answer because he wasn't involved on that day. He might be involved today, but that's a matter for today. If he wants to sign it today, then he can be involved. And in 2025, Mr. Aitim wasn't involved, so what is he claiming?"