Apparent movement towards constitution amendment faltered when the opposition withdrew its support for the process.In early October, Prime Minster Abhist Vejjajiva met with formal and de facto leaders of government coalition parties, including Suwat Liptapanlop (Ruamjai Thai), Newin Chidchob (Bhumjaithai), Banharn Silpa-archa (Chart Thai Pattana), Suwit Khunkitti (Social Action Party) and Somsak Thepsuthin. After the meeting, Newin said that leaders agreed that a constitution amendment draft should be proposed to parliament, and that a House committee would be formed to draft a referendum for the public to decide which of the six changes proposed by the Direk Thuengfang reconciliation, constitution change and political reform committee recommendations should be undertaken

Underlying much of the month’s political news was a strange course of events concerning National Police Chief Pol Gen Patcharawat Wongsuwon and the selection of who is to succeed him in office. Patcharawat, due to retire at the end of September, was already the focus of political attention. He is suspected by some as being too close to Thaksin Shinawatra, and there were allegations that he may have been impeding the investigation of the April attack on Sondhi Limthongkul.

The parliamentary committee on national reconciliation, political reform and constitution amendment, chaired by Senator Direk Thungfang, prepared a report identifying six areas of the 2007 constitution that cause social division and conflict, and thus should be amended: dissolution of political parties and banning of executives from politics; the procedure for becoming an MP (apparently largely focusing on whether House constituencies should remain multi-member or return to being single-member districts); the procedure for becoming a senator; parliamentary endorsement of international treaties; appointment of MPs to other political positions (currently forbidden); and parliamentarians’ authority to help solve people’s problems (apparently meaning their scope to influence the activities of state agencies and possibly access to constituency development funding).

In party politics, tensions continued between the Democrats and their coalition partners. Though certain circumstances and developments seemed to encourage the parties to back off from their points of conflict.