Piyu Calls on Orange Party to Remember Its Origins, Warns Against Becoming Mere Election Campaigners

On May 4, 2025, Piyu Boonkorkul, secretary of the Khwam Kaokwang group, posted on Facebook stating that without the September 19, 2006 coup, without the May 22, 2014 coup, without military interference in politics, without independent agencies and the Constitutional Court, without the 2017 constitution framework, and without traditional politicians being loyal to the elite or colluding with big capital that controls the country, there would be no need to establish a new party. He clarified that the origins of new political parties including Future Forward and the current People's Party stemmed from reactions to two decades of political and economic conditions. He stressed that the party's mission, at least in its first 1-2 decades, must relate to fundamental reforms in politics, economics, and society. Whenever the party addresses issues of independent agencies and the Constitutional Court, it must go beyond just criticizing the individuals in those positions to questioning the very authority and necessity of such institutions. When addressing military conscription abolition, it must reveal how conscription violates basic human dignity and militarizes civilians. When investigating corruption, it cannot merely serve as an opposition force competing with other parties or expose scandals for media attention and party prominence; it must reveal structural issues and the power relationships between capital, politicians, and bureaucracy that extend to the apex and nationwide plunder. Piyu warned that if the party abandons these missions or forgets its founding purpose, there's no need for it to exist, or it will become merely a gathering of people seeking political careers. Party politicians will transform into electoral campaigners focused on winning elections, and party experts will become technocrats conducting patchwork repairs. This would make it no different from other parties, just with a fresher appearance. He emphasized that unifying party ideology requires discussing the party's origins and collectively determining whether those founding conditions still exist. If collectively they determine circumstances have changed and reform is no longer necessary, they should abandon the original direction. However, if they reaffirm that Thailand's political, economic, and social conditions remain unchanged or have worsened over two decades, the party must move forward to make Thai citizens recognize the necessity of fundamental nationwide reforms.