** Daily News **

BANGKOK : Allies of ousted Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra laid out an ambitious agenda for a coalition government Monday, even though they refused to reveal which parties had agreed to align with them.

If the pro-Thaksin People Power Party (PPP) succeeds in building a coalition, it could pave the way for the self-made billionaire’s return from his self-imposed exile in Britain.

PPP secretary general Surapong Suebwonglee said that the party and its potential partners had not yet discussed proposals for Thaksin’s return, or an amnesty for him and his top political supporters. He refused even to say which parties had agreed to join with PPP, but said he expected they would collectively hold at least 280 of the 480 seats in parliament.

“It would take between 280 and 300 seats to have a stable government, and we believe we can reach that number,” he said.

“People Power will be the core of the new government,” he said. “The political climate is returning to normal.”

He vowed that the coalition would quickly jump start the economy, which has lagged behind the rest of Southeast Asia due to two years of political turmoil here.

“If we form the government, we will place a special focus on tackling the economy, making that our urgent agenda,” he said, vowing to drop controversial currency controls and to boost government spending.

Surapong also said PPP would scale back powers granted to the military in the 15 months since the coup, by amending the army-backed constitution passed in an August referendum and revising a tough new security law.

Unofficial returns from Sunday’s general election gave PPP 232 of the 480 seats in parliament, just short of the absolute majority needed to govern alone.

The party had claimed victory on Sunday and immediately began courting partners for a coalition.

The Democrat Party, which came in second with 165 seats, has already refused to join a PPP-led government.

The remaining 83 seats were divided among five minority parties.

One had previously ruled out a coalition with PPP, but three others had once been part of Thaksin’s Thai Rak Thai party, which was disbanded after he was ousted in last year’s coup.

Officials with the minor parties contacted by AFP could not confirm PPP’s claim.

PPP executive Chusak Sirinil said negotiations were still underway with Chart Thai, which has a history as a powerbroker.

The party is known popularly as “the eel” because of its slippery past alliances based more on political convenience than ideology. - AFP/ch