South Dovani

[Zanz]

Reeling NEWP Assesses Its Prospects in the National Assembly
17 February 5631

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In the months since the historic defeat of the New Elephant Worker's Party candidate Interior Minister Jintana Worasith by Kob Suchinda for the presidency, the NEWP under Prime Minister Chandra Srirai has been forced to introspect on where it stands in the electoral landscape.

Faced with the prospect of another national election so soon after the "Kob Crush" of last November, Chandra and the party leadership have stated that "everything is on the table" with regard to this November's election to seat the legislature.

The shakeup has apparently begun, with several key allies of controversial former Education Minister Patcharee Intharasuk in the National Assembly announcing this week that they will not be returning to the legislature after 5631. Continued fallout from the QDGSS fire is believed by leadership to be a critical illness for the NEWP, and further distance from Patcharee believed the medicine.

Rumblings have begun as well, according to sources that asked to remain anonymous due to proximity to the matter, about the value of the NEWP's continued alliance with the Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs. PIE leaders, particularly Minister of Finance Vitaya Kongsangchai have grown more ambitious following the NEWP's stumbles, and there are suspicions in the NEWP leadership that the PIE's commitment to acting as the centrist half of the center-left coalition may be waning in the face of an ascendant nationwide right wing. No formal announcement has been made by the NEWP, but Chandra's "everything on the table" approach is believed by some to indicate that the party may be open even to working with parties on its left, should such be necessary to maintain power after an election that seems fraught with the possibility of a rightward swing.

For its part, PIE leadership has remained largely tight lipped on the election. Spokespeople for the PIE have focused of late on the successes of the NERI, which has launched several successful advertisement campaigns seeking to highlight that South Dovani is open to business to the world.

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