Mingkwan said to be ready to step down

Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Mingkwan Sangsuwan will soon announce his resignation because he is feeling depressed at the lack of support from the People Power Party.

A source, who works close to Mingkwan, said Dr Olarn Chaipravat, now an adviser to Finance Minister Surapong Suebwonglee, is a candidate to replace Mingkwan.

"Mingkwan feels very depressed because his own party does not give any support to his work. The party has also put pressure on Mingkwan and intervened in all the matters under his responsibility such as the rice policy," the source said.

"Mingkwan feels that he is a black sheep in the party. He is a clean man, free from corruption, but other politicians are trying to force him out of office to pave the way for them to take the benefits of the Commerce Ministry," added the source.

Mingkwan is out of favour in the People Power Party, which is now under the tight control of Newin Chidchob.

There were reports from Government House that Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej was planning to reshuffle his Cabinet, allowing Mingkwan to keep his role as deputy prime minister only and taking away the Commerce Ministry portfolio from him.

"There have been rumours all afternoon that Dr Olarn will be replacing Mingkwan," said another well-informed source. "The reason they want Dr Olarn, who is one of Thailand's top economists, is because the government now does not have strong economic leadership. Mingkwan had aspired to become

the economic head of the government, but he has failed. Dr Surapong also lacks fundamental knowledge when it comes to real economic issues."

However, the source said he was doubtful that Dr Olarn would accept the job, given the shaky status of a government that might not last more than another six months.

Samak and the core leaders of the People Power Party took over management of the rice policy from Mingkwan before setting up a rice price-guarantee programme that would cost the government more than Bt25 billion. This price-guarantee programme is susceptible to irregularities.

Over the weekend, panelists at the Thammasat University's Faculty of Economics gave an "F" to Mingkwan's performance at the Commerce Ministry.

This has further increased pressure for Mingkwan to be shunted out.

However, Deputy Commerce Minister Viroon Tejapaiboon said that it would be unfair to kick Mingkwan out of the position as it was too early to criticise his performance.

"Mingkwan should not resign from the position as he has the efficiency needed to help the country," said Viroon, adding that Mingkwan was a key person to help his party win the general election.

However, he suggested that Mingkwan might need to adjust his character in order to survive in the political arena as he is not a politician. "He may need to become more careful when he speaks because his words can create difficulties for him later," he said.