Pheu Thai wary of ‘small fish’

Small parties with 30 MPs between them will decide the government’s fate in the censure debate, according to Pheu Thai Party leader Cholnan Srikaew.

For the government, small parties, many of them with one MP each, matter more than bigger parties, said Dr Cholnan, who holds the top post in the opposition block.

The coalition parties were left clinging to a thin parliamentary majority following the expulsion of 21 MPs from the ruling Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP).

The MPs belonged to the faction controlled by the former PPRP secretary-general Capt Thamanat Prompow who was among those purged.

Dr Cholnan also referred to a recent dinner party attended by big coalition parties and invited by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha. No small parties took part in the get-together.

The prime minister is separately meeting small parties over dinner on Thursday, and their…