The Democrat Party has resolved to join the Pheu Thai-led government, ending a decades-long rivalry.

The Democrat Party on 29 August announced at the press conference that the Party’s 43 executive members unanimously agreed to join the Pheu Thai-led government.  Party leader Chalermchai Sri-on revealed that the Party will initially be allocated two cabinet positions: Minister of Natural Resources and Environment and Minister of Health.

The Party agreed to nominate the Party leader as the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, while the Party’s Secretary-General Det-it Khaothong was nominated as the Deputy Minister of Health.

The Democrat Party was previously in opposition during the administration of former PM Srettha Thavisin. The Party has long been considered a rival of the Pheu Thai Party. After Pheu Thai MPs and its executive board voted to remove the military-backed PPRP from the government coalition led by the newly elected PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra, it invited the Democrat Party to join the coalition in order to secure a stable government.

This decision caused an internal rift within the Democrat Party. Four Democrat MPs, including former PM and Party leader Chuan Leekpai, objected to joining the government coalition with Pheu Thai. However, they previously said they would respect the Party’s decision, regardless of the resolution.

Meanwhile, Ploytalay Lakshmi Saengchan, the Democrat Party’s deputy spokesperson and executive member, said joining the Pheu Thai-led government is an opportunity for the Democrat Party to continue its policies, noting that clinging to the past would prevent progress from the present to the future.

The Reporter on 30 August reported that PM Paetongtarn clarified the reason behind the Party’s decision, saying that the Party saw the potential in the Democrat Party, insisting that the Party has never forgotten what the Democrat Party did in the past. However, she said the country needs a stable government in order to effectively work for the people.

Some Pheu Thai supporters accepted the Party’s decision to include its former rival Democrat Party, while some strongly opposed this idea, saying that the Democrats trampled on the Red Shirts, whose members died during the 2010 crackdown.

In 2010, the Red Shirt movement, a political movement founded by former PM Thaksin Shinawatra’s supporters to protest the coup and military government, staged protests in Bangkok to demand that then Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva of the Democrat Party dissolve parliament and hold an election. During the crackdown, the military used live ammunition against the protesters. Between 10 April and 19 May 2010, 99 people were killed and over 1200 were injured.

At the time, Abhisit was alleged to be the one who pulled the string behind the deadly crackdown. “...And unfortunately some people died,” said the then PM during an interview with BBC World News about the live ammunition used during the 2010 crackdown. He has never apologized to the Red Shirt movement. Fourteen years on, the victims have yet to receive justice, and the authorities have not investigated the incident.