While showing solidarity with the Democrat Party, the PDRC’s former core leaders, Thavorn Senniam and Akanat Promphan, came out differently in their support of Abhisit in his next run for premiership.

Abhisit, meanwhile, insisted that PDRC head Suthep Thaugsuban has washed his hands of the party for good, saying the Democrat’s former secretary general had promised not to intervene in internal affairs because he would work only in the civil sector.

The rare coffee meeting yesterday between the PDRC exleaders and Abhisit came after word had spread that the PDRC was trying to take over the Democrat Party and remove the current leader.

In 2013 and 2014 when the PDRC was demonstrating on the streets in Bangkok, the core leaders claimed that the PDRC and the Democrat Party were unrelated.

After almost a twohour meetฌing, Thavorn said he wanted to make it clear that in their fight against the “Thaksin regime”, nobody had resigned from the party, refuting reports that said “they were returnฌing to Democrat Party again”.

“We have always been Democrats up to the present,” the former PDRC leader said. “We joined, also with the Democrat Party, the fight against the blanket Amnesty Bill and we won.”

‘Focused on reforms’

The focus of the discussion yesฌterday addressed two points, Thavorn said. First, both entities would remain united in following the road map towards an election. Second, they shared the same ambiฌtion of achieving reforms within one year after the Constitution was promulgated.

“We will follow everything up. If this government fails to reform [the country], then it is our duty to carry it on,” Thavorn said. “Our [PDRC and the Democrat Party’s] focus has always been aligned on this point.”

While noting that the party advoฌcated elections and wanted Abhisit to become PM again, Thavorn said former PDRC secretary general Suthep’s recent remark, showing support for PM Prayut Chanocha to continue his premiership for another five years, was a different view.

“Holding different views is possible. Just don’t judge and say the person is wrong. Suthep’s view is not wrong. It is just his view,” Thavorn said.

Akanat, former spokesman of the PDRC and Suthep’s stepson, said the talk yesterday centred more around national interests, especially reforms, and less around who would run for the PM’s post or how the Democrat Party would change structurally.

Akanat said it was “a matter for the future” whether or not the PDRC would root for Abhisit to keep his leadership of the party.

In a separate interview, Abhisit said he had no power to force anyone to advocate for him.

The Democrat Party was run on democratic principles; everyone had the right to choose their leader so long as the person held onto the party’s ideology, he said.

“I’m not worried that there are people competing with me in chamฌpioning the leader’s position. The Democrat Party exists until today because of democracy. I’m confident that everyone is aware that we hold a certain ideology. And everyone is here today because of that ideology,” he said. “So, don’t turn that into something else. Our party is an institution. We can’t act like an adhoc one.”