Pick of the opposition?

A fresh round of party hopping has begun, with the Klatham Party on the prowl for defectors and the People's Party (PP) claiming to be a primary target.

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However, the PP's claim that some of its MPs were being courted with generous offers of tens of millions of baht was being taken with a pinch of salt.

Klatham has been accused of going on a "shopping spree" of late and comes across as growing stronger since breaking away from the once mighty Palang Pracharath Party.

Political experts say that up-and-coming parties tend to resort to the merger and acquisition of smaller outfits as a primary means of expanding. For such a tactic to succeed, these parties need plenty of resources at their disposal.

Klatham is reputed to be financially solid, backed by highly experienced and astute politicians, the most prominent of whom is party patriarch Capt Thamanat Prompow, who used to serve as PPRP secretary-general.

The party started out with 24 MPs, who left the PPRP following Capt Thamanat's fallout with PPRP leader Gen Prawit Wongsuwon.

The painful split was reportedly marked by the PPRP leadership refusing to give the Thamanat faction a fair share of cabinet appointments in the Paetongtarn Shinawatra cabinet.

The faction left the PPRP and subsequently formed Klatham, which had the last laugh.

The ruling Pheu Thai Party, which had good ties with Capt Thamanat, accepted Klatham into the cabinet and ejected the PPRP from the government.

A source close to the matter said Capt Thamanat has retained close ties with former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, Ms Paetongtarn's father, who is seen as Pheu Thai's de facto leader.