Paetongtarn Shinawatra is elected Thailand’s 31st prime minister, she is the country’s second female leader but what makes her more special is, at 37 years of age, the youngest head of government in Asia as well. After the tenures of her father Thaksin and aunt Yingluck, she is the 3rd one to serve as Prime Minister from the same family.
Paetongtarn’s rise to power was triggered by the court-ordered removal on Wednesday of Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin. A cabinet reshuffle brokered by Thaksin and Yingluck in April saw the appointment of Shinawatra family lawyer Pichit Chuenban to the prime minister’s office. The Constitutional Court said Srettha committed an ethical breach due to Pichit’s prior bribery conviction.
As founder of the Pheu Thai party and one of Thailand’s foremost power brokers, the 75-year-old Thaksin will inevitably cast a long shadow over his youngest daughter’s government. His commuted sentence on corruption charges will end on Aug. 22, but conservative elites hold a trump card lest Thaksin wield his influence conspicuously once again. Evidence and witnesses will be examined on Monday in the lese-majeste case against Thaksin, who is accused of insulting the monarchy, Thailand’s highest offense. That may give Paetongtarn some space to define her own tenure, although she is unlikely to decline her father’s guidance.
“I have a relationship with Mr. Thaksin in every way possible. Politics, yes. Family, yes. We talk about everything together,” she told Nikkei Asia (Thailand’s major Media) in an interview.
She was elected leader of the Pheu Thai party in October, but struggled to implement her own management amid Thaksin’s outsize influence, according to party insiders. Along with Srettha, the socially progressive Paetongtarn pushed for marriage equality to be added to Pheu Thai’s agenda. She is said to have argued with her father in support of a coalition with the Move Forward Party, which pulled off a surprise win over Pheu Thai in the May 2023 election. Pheu Thai ultimately abandoned the coalition to join hands with former opponents when conservative parties and senators blocked Move Forward leader Pita Limjaroenrat’s path to the premiership.
Pita was banned from politics for 10 years on Aug. 7, but continues to command popular support with a 45.5% approval rating. Paetongtarn received only 4.85% support in the same June poll by the National Institute for Development Administration.