Opposition leader Sam Rainsy on Wednesday said he would consider joining a new government under the conditions of a deal signed by Funcinpec President Prince Norodom Ranariddh and Prime Minister Hun Sen earlier this week, if he deemed the terms appropriate.
“It is up to the reasons and circumstances,” Sam Rainsy told reporters after a meeting of his party’s board of directors on Wednesday morning. “If the circumstances call for a national united government, we must help the government for the nation.”
Politicians and observers are closely watching the opposition’s reaction, following Prince Ranariddh and Hun Sen’s agreement on Monday to create a new coalition government that would allow Funcinpec to share some of its government positions with the Sam Rainsy Party.
The formula, which officials have termed a “two-and-a-half party” scenario, falls far short of initial demands from Funcinpec and the Sam Rainsy Party’s Alliance of Democrats to form a new tripartite government.
The deal also eliminates opposition officials from two new working groups, composed entirely of Funcinpec and CPP representatives, to negotiate the details of the new National Assembly and government.
The discrepancy has led some to question whether the Alliance is in jeopardy.
Sam Rainsy has revealed little about his party’s next step, but has maintained the Alliance remains strong.
A day after Prince Ranariddh briefed Sam Rainsy on the deal, the two leaders issued a statement Wednesday, affirming they were still united.
“The Funcinpec party and the SRP will strive to ensure that the to-be-formed government will be a coalition government for national union and national salvation,” the statement said.
It added that the parties “will ensure that roles and positions will be fairly shared between the two parties in the new government.”
The lack of any firm decision from either Alliance partner has some observers wary that they may backpedal on Monday’s agreement, as they did after a deal made Nov 5, which all three parties signed in the presence of King Norodom Sihanouk.
“It’s hard to predict what will happen…Nothing appears to be finalized yet,” Jackson Cox, resident program director for the US-based International Republican Institute, said on Wednesday, adding, “The devil is in the details.”
One Asian diplomat, who declined to be named, said Sam Rainsy is likely battling a division within his own party over whether it should join the government.
“I don’t think Sam Rainsy will join himself,” the diplomat said, adding that the opposition leader could lend a stronger voice by staying out of the government.
While it’s possible the two parties may still back out of Monday’s agreement, the diplomat said it was encouraging that Prince Ranariddh and Hun Sen were speaking to each other again—especially as the two were seen sitting side by side at a wedding celebration on Tuesday of CPP co-Minister of Interior Sar Kheng’s son and CPP RCAF commander-in-chief Ke Kim Yan’s daughter.
Their meeting on Monday at Prince Ranariddh’s house, during which the deal was made, was their first unmediated tete-a-tete since before the July national election.
“I don’t think Hun Sen would have met Prince Ranariddh unless there was an understanding they could work together,” the diplomat said.
CPP spokesman Khieu Kanharith on Wednesday said his party is not worried about the Alliance’s indecision.
“The CPP just works with Funcinpec. If any party wants to join, just come through Funcinpec,” he said. Khieu Kanharith said the working groups will begin negotiations next week.
King Sihanouk, who is known for writing sarcastic letters, applauded Monday’s agreement, calling it a “magical formula.”
“Bravo!! As long as some Funcinpecists do not feel seriously frustrated by the fact that they will have been set aside by this (frightful) race of power, honor and money,” he wrote in a message on his Web site on Tuesday.
In a separate message Wednesday, he expressed skepticism that the parties could resolve the deadlock and set up a new government before his expected return from Beijing next month.
