Thailand’s Parliament elected Paetongtarn Shinawatra as prime minister Friday, continuing the legacy of the political dynasty that began with her father Thaksin Shinawatra, one of Thailand’s most popular but divisive political figures.
Thaksin, a former Prime Minister, was ousted by a military coup in 2006, which triggered decades of deep political divisions. Paetongtarn appears to be the beneficiary of a deal her father made with his old conservative foes, allowing the populist party led by her to take power while pushing aside the more progressive party that finished first in last year's election.
Paetongtarn becomes Thailand’s third leader from the Shinawatra family, after her billionaire father, who returned from exile last year, and her aunt Yingluck Shinawatra, who lives in exile. Paetongtarn also is Thailand’s second female prime minister after her aunt, and the country’s youngest leader at 37.
As the only nominee, she was confirmed by 319 votes in favor, with 145 against and 27 abstentions. Paetongtarn is the leader of the Pheu Thai party, the latest of a string of parties linked to Thaksin. She is not an elected lawmaker as that was not required for her to be a candidate for prime minister.
She will officially become prime minister with royal assent, though the timing of that step isn’t known.
Paetongtarn, a former business executive, appeared overwhelmed as she spoke to reporters after the Parliament vote at the party's office in Bangkok. She said she was very “honored and happy.”
“I really hope that I can make people feel confident, that we can build opportunity and quality of life,” she said. “I hope that I can do my best to make the country go forward.”
Paetongtarn’s nomination followed the removal of Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin of Pheu Thai on Wednesday after less than a year in office. The Constitutional Court found him guilty of a serious ethical breach regarding his appointment of a Cabinet member who was jailed in connection with an alleged bribery attempt.
It was the second major ruling in a week to shake Thai politics. The same court last week dissolved the progressive Move Forward party, which won last year’s general election but was blocked from taking power. The party has already regrouped as the People’s Party.
Thaksin's residual popularity and influence is a factor behind the political support for Paetongtarn. Her public entry into politics came in 2021 when the Pheu Thai party announced she would lead an inclusion advisory committee. She was named one of Pheu Thai's three prime ministerial candidates ahead of the polls in 2023 and was made party chief last year.
When Paetongtarn was on the campaign trail for Pheu Thai, she acknowledged her family ties but insisted she was not just her father’s proxy.
“I am my dad’s daughter, always and forever, but I have my own decisions,” she told a reporter.
However, her work will not be easy with Thaksin continuing to call the political shots for Pheu Thai, said Petra Alderman, a political research fellow at England’s University of Birmingham.
"Thaksin was a political force to reckon with, but he was also a liability," she said, “He has a tendency to overplay his political hand, so serving in his shadow has never been easy.”
Alderman noted that, while Paetongtarn seems to enjoy warm political and public support, that is not the only factor that will determine the course of her premiership.
“Who gets to govern in Thailand and for how long are questions that are often answered by unelected and unaccountable watchdog institutions, (such as) the Election Commission of Thailand and the Constitutional Court, or military coups,” she said.
Pheu Thai and its predecessors linked to Thaksin have won all national elections since 2001, with core populist policies pledging to solve economic problems and bridge income equality, until it lost to the reformist Move Forward in 2023. It was given a chance to form a government, however, after Move Forward was blocked from taking power by the previous Senate, a military-appointed body.
Move Forward was excluded from the coalition by Pheu Thai, which went on to join with parties affiliated with the military government that previously ousted it in a coup.
Thaksin returned to Thailand last year after years in exile on the same day that Srettha was approved by both lower and upper houses, in what was interpreted as part of a political bargain between Pheu Thai and their longstanding rivals in the conservative establishment to stop Move Forward from forming a government.
Senators were given special power to veto a prime ministerial candidate by the constitution adopted in 2017 under a military government. However, new members of the Senate, selected in a convoluted process last month, do not retain the veto. It means that a candidate needs just a majority from the lower house.
The coalition of Pheu Thai and its old conservative rivals under the leadership of Paetongtarn could strengthen their unity because Paetongtarn possesses something that Srettha does not — a direct line to her powerful father who has the final say — said Napon Jatusripitak, a political science researcher at Singapore’s ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.
“In a strange way, it creates a clear chain of command and curbs factionalism,” he said. “Paetongtarn will be given clear jurisdiction on where she can exercise her own agency and where it is a matter between her father and the coalition members.”
