From: kamol@munnari.oz.AU (Kamol Hengkietisak)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.thai
Subject: June 8: Democrat to use Chuan as PM as a rally cry.
Date: 23 Jul 92 06:12:08 GMT
Organization: Mail/News gateway

 
     SETTING the tone for the September 13 general election, 
former Democrat leader and deputy premier Bhichai Rattakul 
yesterday called on the party to promote Chuan Leekpai as next 
prime minister.
     Mr Bhichai told a party general assembly at the Deville 
Palace Hotel to make "Love democracy, choose Chuan as prime 
minister" the primary theme of their election campaign.
     During the March 22 general election the Democrats won 44 
seats.
     Mr Chuan, the current Democrat leader, told the assembly that 
if the party wins another 44 to 48 seats the Democrats could 
become the core of the next coalition government.
     "Quantity is also necessary. Quality alone wouldn't do. 
Therefore, the candidate selection will have to be adjusted. It 
will have to be based on reason and appropriateness," Mr Chuan 
said.
     In his opening speech Mr Bhichai told party members that the 
recent events have caused great political changes. Some parties 
emerged from it with a negative image but the Democrats came out a 
winner because the party never changed its pro-democracy stance.
     Democrats cannot afford to look down upon their rivals and 
must choose good candidates for the upcoming general election to 
win back the faith of the people in the party.
     He said he would not run for Parliament but would help his 
party in every possible way.
     He would not predict how many seats the Democrats would win 
but if past events were any indication "the party should win more 
seats".
     He called on people in the provinces not to sell their votes 
because it would cause the country harm and urged the party to 
devise methods to fight money-dumping, especially in the 
Northeast.
     He predicted that about 60 per cent of the former MPs will be 
returned to Parliament.
     He urged party members to strive for unity by pursuing the 
same goal. "You have to make `Mr Chuan for prime minister' the 
focal point of your election campaign," he told the assembly.
     Mr Chuan's record is unblemished, he has alway behaved well 
and is appropriate for the post, Mr Bhichai said.
     Mr Chuan, meanwhile, said the Democrat Party was not a 
special task force set up to seal the success of any individual 
leader. The people have placed a lot of hope in the party and 
everyone must help to build democracy.
     However, he said that though the May tragedy helped usher the 
spirit of democracy it cannot yet change the attitude of people on 
how to choose MPs. As such the party cannot look down upon its 
competitors and if it wanted Mr Bhichai's goal to materialise it 
would have to win a large number of seats so that the Democrats 
can spearhead the formation of the next government.
     He said the May 17-20 tragedy adversely affected the economy, 
especially tourism, but it also set in motion the current attempts 
to ensure that such events do not happen again.
     This includes efforts to solve problems in the Armed Forces. 
Democratic soldiers have told him that they want adjustments in 
the Armed Forces to bring them in line with their counterparts 
elsewhere.
     Meanwhile, a party source disclosed that Mr Bhichai's call to 
support Mr Chuan as prime minister drew opposition from deputy 
leader Prachuab Chaiyasarn who said the idea may not sell in the 
Northeast.
     The source, who is close to Mr Prachuab, said the former Udon 
Thani MP had expressed his reservations to Mr Bhichai's suggestion 
during the meeting yesterday of the party's northeastern faction 
meeting.
     The source quoted Mr Prachuab as reasoning that many Isan 
people may not be happy to have a southerner as prime minister 
because many northeastern workers have gone South seeking jobs but 
they could not get along with their southern employers.