Paetongtarn Shinawatra, daughter of billionaire former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, stands in stark contrast to her rivals – two former army chiefs with a combined age of 146.
The kingdom’s May election pits Paetongtarn Shinawatra against 69-year-old incumbent Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha, who seized power in a military coup in 2014, and former general Prawit Wongsuwan, 77.
Although the 36-year-old, who was partly educated in Britain, is eight months pregnant, she has recently campaigned vigorously on behalf of her party.
— People who think that pregnant women or mothers cannot be leaders are idiots, says the 67-year-old voter and Bangkok resident Chuthamas Thriwarin.
Thailand’s leading politicians can be divided into two groups: those supported by Thailand’s military and royal family, and the more reformist opposition, which includes Paetongtarn Shinawatra’s Pheu Thai party.
Her father Thaksin was forced from power in 2006, then went into exile to escape a prison sentence for alleged corruption. Despite his exile in Dubai, the telecoms tycoon remains beloved by rural and working-class Thai voters – but hated by the country’s powerful military and royal elite.