Whether there will be a cabinet reshuffle, and what form it would take, should be known on Friday afternoon after separate meetings of Democrat executive committee members and MPs, party secretary-general Suthep Thaugsuban said on Thursday.
Mr Suthep, deputy prime minister and the government's manager, was speaking after a meeting with Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva at Government House.
Mr Suthep said he gave the prime minister details of his meetings with core members of some coalition parties about their attitudes toward being a part of the coalition government.
He said the Democrat Party would first call meeting of executive committee members on Friday to discuss a cabinet reshuffle. Later in the afternoon the party would hold a meeting of its MPs.
A decision whether to reshuffle the cabinet and, if so, how, was expected after that, Mr Suthep said.
"I have given the coalition parties some time to hold talks between themselves. As for the Democrat Party, we will hold a meeting of the executive and another of MPs before making a decision," he said.
Mr Suthep declined to say whether any of the parties in conflict may be dropped from the coalition, or whether any other parties would be invited to join.
The simmering conflict between the Bhumjaithai and Puea Pandin parties blew out after Wednesday's no-confidence vote in which some of Puea Pandin MPs voted against Interior Minister Chavarat Charnvirakul and Transport Minister Sohpon Zarum of Bhumjaithai.
As a result, the two Bhumjaithai ministers received fewer votes of confidence than Mr Abhisit, Mr Suthep and Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij of the Democrat Party. Both, however, still received a clear majority support.
Bhumjaithai subsequently issued the prime minister an ultimatum - to chose between Puea Pandin with 14 MPs and Bumjaithai with 46.
Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya, who was also grilled by the opposition, is not an MP and does not belong to a party.
Mr Suthep said earlier in the day that he would try to mend the rift in the coalition, offering himself as a mediator in the dispute. He said there could also be other mediators if needed..
"A cabinet reshuffle may not be necessary if the parties in conflict can reach a settlement and adhere to political ethics.
"However, there will be changes to the cabinet if it is really necessary. I will do everything to make the government strong," the Democrat secretary-general said.
Mr Suthep said in the morning that he had not been able to contact the Puea Pandin Party.
He said he tried to contact Puea Pandin, both before and after the no-confidence vote, but to no avail.
Mr Suthep declined to comment on Bhumjaithai's ultimatum that the prime minister chose between Bhumjaithai and Puea Pandin, saying only that Puea Pandin MPs who voted against the Bhumjaithai ministers might have to be left out.
From : Bangkok Post
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