BANGKOK - Thailand's political parties got down to hard bargaining on Monday after voters roundly rejected last year's military coup but failed to give supporters of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra an outright majority.
The deal-making looks likely to be long, tense and dirty after Sunday's vote showed a country polarised between Thaksin supporters in the People Power Party (PPP) and opponents represented mostly by the Democrat Party.
The PPP said it had managed to gain enough support to form a coalition government but refused to name its partners, prompting speculation the announcement might be part of the usual post-election bargaining process.
"There is still plenty of room for mischief," the Bangkok Post said in an editorial. "Other groups, including the military, must abide by the election decision."
Combative PPP leader Samak Sundaravej, who openly admits to being a Thaksin proxy, is not shy about his job prospects, saying his party's 232 seats in the 480-member parliament will "certainly" allow him to be Thailand's next prime minister.
The big question is whether the army and royalist establishment, whom the Thaksin camp accuses of masterminding the coup, will stand by and let this happen.
Two of the crucial minor parties, Chart Thai (Thai Nation) and Puea Pandin (Motherland), with 65 seats between them, would act together and take their time making a decision, Chart Thai leader and former prime minister Banharn Silpa-archa said.
Parliament must meet within 30 days of the election and then has a month to elect a prime minister.
However, the army and Thailand's old elite are likely to call in every favour to stop Thaksin making a comeback by proxy, including getting the Election Commission (EC) to whittle down PPP numbers by disqualifying candidates for vote fraud.
"At every step in coming days and weeks, the EC must be seen to be doing exactly the right thing in every decision," the Bangkok Post said.
