Chart Pattana Kla party leader Korn Chatikavanij has said that the party never contacted the Move Forward party to join its coalition government, because the party won only two House seats and is not in a position to bargain.
He has also complained that he was subjected to heavy criticism from both sides of the political divide, which has affected his family and his loved ones.
The “Chart Pattana Kla: With Korn, Without Me” hashtag top trended on Twitter on Friday, when netizens voiced strong objections to Chart Pattana Kla joining the coalition. The uproar forced the Move Forward party to backtrack by dropping the party.
In his Facebook post yesterday (Saturday), Korn said that, after the May 14th general election, he was in Melbourne, Australia visiting his children when news broke about the party having agreed to join the coalition, after being invited to do so by the Move Forward party.
He disclosed that he received a call from party chairman Suwat Liptapallop on Friday, to say that the party had been invited to join the coalition and that both of them would discuss the issue at a meeting of the executive committee on Monday, because the party is against any change to the lèse majesté law.
Amending the lèse majesté law is one of the flagship policies in the Move Forward party’s manifesto.
He also said that the party has a policy to de-monopolise the energy business.
Korn said that the party is, however, firm in its position that the party which won the most seats in the House has the legitimacy to form the government, “as this is the democratic principle and is my position.”
He added that the Chart Pattana Kla party is ready to work with every party, but will not touch the lèse majesté law and will seek to remove the oligopoly’s control of the energy business.
“My politics is not based on hatred or fear, but on belief, belief in seeing better lives for the Thai people,” said Korn in his post.
