Thammanat’s group votes with Opposition over Thailand’s draft liquor bill

Several Thai Economic Party MPs, led by former Palang Pracharath party secretary-general Thammanat Prompao, voted with the Opposition in supporting the draft liquor bill, aimed at breaking the domestic liquor oligopoly, and opposed the proposal to send it to the cabinet for vetting.

14 out of 18 Thai Economic Party MPs voted in line with the Opposition. Thammanat himself did not cast a vote.

In his Facebook post late last night, the former deputy agriculture minister said that he and his group of MPs, who were sacked from the ruling Palang Pracharath party in January over their demand for a party restructuring, will do anything they deem beneficial to grassroot people or local liquor brewers, so they have a chance in business and an opportunity to prosper.

He said that his group voted yesterday to support the “progressive” liquor bill along the opposition line because…