Government Whip Blasts Opposition for Stalling No-Confidence Debate
Government whip Kriengkrit Prisananankul accused the opposition of walking out of negotiations over the no-confidence debate schedule, saying the coalition has offered a record 45 to 48 hours of debate time — more than any previous administration. The opposition demanded five days and now wants to delay the debate until November, which Kriengkrit says is impractical because 18 ministers cannot be kept on standby that long.
Government whip Kriengkrit Prisananankul told reporters after a meeting of the coalition coordination committee on October 22 that he was disappointed with the opposition’s conduct. He said the Cabinet had already agreed to make ministers available from October 27 to 29, and after further negotiation added one more day, setting the debate for October 26 to 29 with a vote on October 30. That schedule gives the opposition 45 to 48 hours of speaking time — more than any previous no-confidence debate under the current charter. Kriengkrit cited records from the Prayut Chan-o-cha administration showing opposition usage ranged from 33 to 43 hours over three-and-a-half to four days. He argued the opposition knows it is difficult to gather 18 ministers for five full days and believes they are deliberately stalling. Kriengkrit insisted the government has not blocked or silenced the opposition and urged both sides to meet halfway for the good of parliament.
