Chris Potranan apologized to the Thai people for not forbidding mockery of the institution during the founding of the Future Forward Party. He declared the Economic Party will stand in opposition and monitor the People's Party before Mai Sirikanya responded, confirming she will not join a government coalition with the Economic Party due to their opposing ideologies.
On 22 January 2026 at Thammasat University Rangsit Center, Chris Potranan, chairman of the Economic Party, reflected on political lessons from the past to the present and future. He apologized to the Thai people for his past role in founding the Future Forward Party and candidly admitted that at that time he neither supervised nor prohibited some party members' communications that led to mocking the institution, which caused distress among many citizens.
During a debate segment, the moderator asked participants to raise issues of past political mistakes needing correction, whether errors by their own parties or failures of past policies, to highlight lessons learned and future directions for the country.
Ms. Sirikanya Tansakul, prime ministerial candidate and deputy leader of the People's Party, did not use this opportunity to reflect on lessons from the Future Forward, Move Forward, or People's parties.
Chris took the opportunity to share his political lessons since founding Future Forward through his time with Move Forward, emphasizing that responsible politics must begin by acknowledging the past, setting verifiable standards in the present, and demonstrating results in the future. He explained that a lesson from Future Forward was mistakenly believing that having ideologically aligned financiers in the party was correct, which in reality led to the creation of a politburo within the party. He also apologized to the Thai people for not preventing members of Future Forward and Move Forward from mocking the institution, which caused discomfort among many citizens.
Later in the debate, the political relationship between the Economic Party and rival parties was discussed. Chris clearly stated the Economic Party's stance and its relationship with the People's Party, affirming that the People's Party would not form a government coalition with the Economic Party. He emphasized the Economic Party's role: "It is the Economic Party that will stand in opposition to the People's Party and continuously check and balance the People's Party."
At the same time, statements about internal party decision-making structures were made, declaring, "There will be no politburo within this party."
The Economic Party emphasized that this stance reflects a key principle of modern politics: avoiding centralization of decision-making power in the hands of a small group, and establishing internal oversight systems that ensure "words" consistently align with "actions."
Subsequently, Mai Sirikanya commented during the debate on the possibility of forming a government coalition with the Economic Party. She spoke about the framework for government formation and coalition agreements (MOUs), pointing out that since "our policies are so opposed," she "does not think we could work together."
