Funcinpec President Prince Norodom Ranariddh lashed out at royalist party officials and warned that some of his party’s current ministers will be stripped of their posts in the new government, during a ceremony on Sunday marking the royalist party’s 23rd anniversary.
Speaking to reporters at the ceremony, Prince Ranariddh announced that he plans to overhaul Funcinpec’s government officials, including ministers, secretaries of state and undersecretaries of state, in a bid to reclaim support for the party.
“I hope in the new government, the composition of government officials will be changed because the people” need change, he said, though he did not specify which, nor how many, positions will be shuffled.
Prince Ranariddh said that those officials who will be stripped of their jobs should revisit their constituents during the next mandate and restore the party’s declining popularity ahead of the 2008 election.
“The party didn’t work. How many times did His Excellencies meet the people [before the July election]? You didn’t go, did you?” the prince said, addressing more than 300 Funcinpec members who had gathered at the party’s headquarters in Phnom Penh.
Prince Ranariddh also warned officials against walking away from Funcinpec, saying they would not be accepted by either the CPP or the Sam Rainsy Party if they abandoned the royalists.
“There is only one door for those ministers [who leave Funcinpec]. Please don’t go to the CPP or the Sam Rainsy Party. Please stay in Funcinpec,” he said.
Prince Ranariddh said negotiations between the two task forces of Funcinpec and CPP leaders, which were created to set up the new government and National Assembly, will begin March 28.
Prince Ranariddh also announced he would not object to the “package vote” arrangement proposed by the CPP several months ago in which the parliamentary leadership and government positions, including Prime Minister Hun Sen being accepted again as premier, would be subject to a simultaneous vote in the Assembly.
Funcinpec and the Sam Rainsy Party had for months rejected such a proposal, charging that it was unconstitutional. They had initially also vowed to not allow Hun Sen to remain prime minister.
The CPP had introduced the idea of a package vote to ensure Funcinpec and opposition lawmakers would approve Hun Sen’s continued premiership if their CPP counterparts voted for Prince Ranariddh as the Assembly president.
Traditionally, the parliamentary leaders are appointed before a government is formed.
On Sunday, Prince Ranariddh reversed his party’s stance on the issue.
“For myself, I don’t regard the package deal election as very important because if we have a good national platform for the nation, which all parties can accept, including the Sam Rainsy Party…there is no danger,” he said.
Prince Ranariddh declined to discuss how the new government positions would be shared, nor whether his Alliance of Democrats partner, Sam Rainsy, would be included in the government.
Though traditionally outspoken, Sam Rainsy has remained uncharacteristically silent in recent days. His party’s future in government remains hazy, though it is tacitly included in a deal signed by the prince and Hun Sen last Monday.
Funcinpec officials are also keeping silent on the party’s strategy, following orders from their president to avoid speaking to the press ahead of the task force negotiations.
According to a draft of the CPP’s negotiation plans, which was verified by CPP spokesman Khieu Kanharith on Sunday, no mention was made of the opposition party.
As outlined in the draft, the CPP intends to press for CPP President Chea Sim to remain as Senate president, Prince Ranariddh to remain head of the National Assembly and Hun Sen to continue as prime minister.
Under such an arrangement, the draft shows, five deputy prime minister positions would be created—three for CPP, and two for Funcinpec.
Both parties would retain their current ministries, though Funcinpec would be asked to relinquish power over the Ministry of Information.
During Sunday’s ceremony, Prince Ranariddh also said King Norodom Sihanouk will return to Phnom Penh on April 2. The King left for China in late January for medical checks.
On Sunday, the Sam Rainsy Party denounced the distribution of leaflets over the weekend, which stated the opposition party was below “the armpit of Funcinpec” and that Funcinpec had used the opposition “to increase its price and strength” in the new government.
A statement from the Sam Rainsy Party on Sunday condemned the leaflets, saying they “were made by politicians who [in their nature] are violent…in order to motivate to split the Alliance of Democrats for their ambition.”
