September 18, 2008
Bangkok - PM-elect Somchai Wongswasdi was urged to prove himself by not building conditions which would lead to conflicts. Unity and reconciliation needed to be focused according to NIDA rector Prof Dr. Sombat Thamrongthanyawong.
Sombat said Somchai was elected prime minister because the coalition parties wanted the People Power Party (PPP) to set up the government.
The new government was urged to build the national unity and peace.
He added that the economic problem had to be dealt with as it was a factor affecting the government’s stability.
The new government was warned not to be obsessed by the political interest.
Sombat talked about the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) that the group’s rally continued as there was no guarantee for the group to end the rally.
He, however, thought that the PAD should give time to the new government to prove itself.
Asst Prof Dr. Pichai Rattanadilok Na Phuket, deputy dean of NIDA’s Faculty of Social Development, previously predicted Somchai government would last only for a few months because of heated politics and PPP’s internal conflicts.
Pichai suggested the political reform committee should be set up to end the political problem in the long run. All parties’ participation should be focused.
