Mr Uttama was the finance minister while Mr Sontirat was the energy minister when Mr Somkid was a deputy prime minister in charge of the economy. “Our policy is to fight poverty and help people and we’ll nominate Mr Somkid as the PM candidate,” he told Matichon Online. Mr Uttama and Mr Sontirat were part of a group of four young technocrats loyal to Mr Somkid, dubbed the “Four Lads” by the Thai media. A few days later, the four men also resigned from the cabinet along with Mr Somkid, forcing a major reshuffle and ending a phase of cooperation between Mr Somkid and Gen Prayut. The initiative was viewed by some as testing the waters before the group set up a new party to back Mr Somkid as prime minister.

Source: Bangkok Post December 25, 2021 13:26 UTC