Thaksin will do anything to topple this govt...Democrats say

Thaksin Shinawatra will do anything to topple this government. That's the conclusion of some of the rulign Democrat Party's executives.

Concern is growing in the ruling Democrat Party that ex-premier Thaksin may make offers to MPs to vote down the 2011 fiscal budget bill - a move that could threaten the Abhisit government, as the government has just a slim majority according to a count of MPs.

Democrat Party executive member Satit Pitutecha warned the government not to be careless since it was possible that Thaksin would do that.

"Thaksin could do anything to topple the government,'' he said.

He said Pheu Thai Party had been open about attempts to attract government MPs from the Democrats and other junior coalition parties.

However, Deputy Premier Suthep Thaugsuban, who is Democrat Party secretary general, dismissed the concern.

Responding to reports that Democrat MPs from the North and East may defect to join the Opposition Pheu Thai Party, Suthep said the public should not take Pheu Thai Party seriously because the party kept changing its statement every day.

He insisted the government was stable and would not have problems get all coalition parties to vote for the budget bill, which needs more than half of total MPs to back it in the second and third readings in August.

Suthep said not counting ministers' votes, the government had more than 250 votes in support of the bill.

Sources said the government's instability had become an issue after PM Abhisit decided to remove ministers from the Korat and Wang Payanak faction in the Puea Pandin Party, who led MPs to vote against two ministers from the Bhum Jai Thai Party.

As a result, the government had lost the support of 18 MPs and had to bring in six MPs led by Chaiyos Jiramethakorn another faction in Puea Pandin party, to support the government, plus three MPs from Matubhum Party.

The government is made up, in effect, of six parties and two factions with a total of 259 MPs, including 171 of the Democrats, 32 of the Bhum Jai Thai Party, 25 of the Thai Chat Pattana, nine of Ruam Chat Pattana, five from Social Action, three from Matubhum, seven from Ban Rimnam and seven from the Dao Krachai faction.

The total number of MPs in Parliament is 474. The opposition has 197 MPs in total, 189 of whom are Pheu Thai Party MPs, while eight are Pracharaj Party MPs.

This means the government has MPs more than half of total MPs in the House by 22 votes. But more than 20 ministers who are MPs are not allowed to vote for the budget bill, this means the government has less than half the total MPs in the House to vote for the budget bill.

Thaksin may yet respond with a direct counter-attack. He doesn't have to do anything. The coalition government is quite capable of self-destruction anyway.