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full screen Thailand’s new Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra as she was formally appointed by the country’s king on Sunday. Photo: Sakchai Lalit/AP/TT
The Thai king has formally named Paetongtarn Shinawatra as the country’s new prime minister in a ceremony on Sunday.
37-year-old Paetongtarn, the daughter of controversial billionaire and former prime minister Thaksin, is the kingdom’s youngest person to date, taking the helm after a turbulent period in which her predecessor was forced out and the main opposition party dissolved by a court.
She will be the third in the Shinawatra family to be appointed prime minister. However, she probably hopes to avoid ending up in the same situation as her father and aunt Yingluck, who were both deposed in military coups.
Paetongtarn received King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s formal, written invitation to form a government in the ceremony held at the headquarters of a television channel formerly known as Thaksin loyalist.
– As head of government, I will work together with the parliament with an open heart and be receptive to all ideas that can be helpful in terms of developing the country, she said after the ceremony.
Thai politics has been marked by instability over the past two decades, with coups, power struggles and large-scale popular protests. Behind the scenes, the military is still seen as ruling with an iron fist after its coup in 2014. As recently as last week, the country’s constitutional court dissolved the major party Kao Klai, which won last year’s election on promises of reduced power for the military and the royal house – but was not allowed to rule.
Paetongtarn Shinawatra, leader of the Pheu Thai party, grew up in Bangkok and later studied in Britain. During the election campaign last year, she made headlines when she was eight months pregnant – and gave birth barely two weeks before election day.
Her biggest challenge will be getting Thailand’s pandemic-hit economy back on track, analysts predict – as well as proving she’s not just her father’s henchman.
FACT Background: Power struggle between elite and opposition
Thai domestic politics can be described as a power struggle between supporters of a traditional elite – the military, the royal house and the civil service – and a broad group that stands in opposition.
The largest in the parliament after the 2023 election was the progressive and youth-friendly Kao Klai. The party went to the polls on promises to relax the country’s strict majesty laws and abolish the political influence of the military – but despite the election victory, was never released to government power.
This can be explained by the fact that the political system is heavily rigged in favor of the military, according to a constitutional amendment implemented after the military coup in 2014. One third of the National Assembly and the entire Senate are appointed by the military.
Earlier in August, Thailand’s Constitutional Court dissolved Kao Klai. According to the court, the party’s election promises constituted an attempt to overthrow the Thai monarchy. The measure against Kao Klai has been condemned by the EU, the US, the UN and several human rights organizations.
Parties that challenge the military and monarchist establishment in Thailand have also previously been annulled in various ways.
Sources: Landguiden/UI and others.
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