Thailand appoints 37-year-old Paetongtarn Shinawatra as PM

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Paetongtarn Shinawatra has been appointed as Thailand’s new prime minister, becoming the country’s youngest-ever leader and marking the return to power of the Shinawatra family, which has dominated Thai politics over the past two decades.

Paetongtarn, 37, clinched the premiership on Friday after gaining the backing of a majority of lawmakers in the Thai parliament. She will become Asia’s youngest leader, and Thailand’s third from the Shinawatra clan after her father, the divisive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, and her aunt, Yingluck Shinawatra.

Her premiership could herald a new wave of volatility in Thai politics. The Shinawatra clan has repeatedly clashed with the country’s powerful military-royalist establishment, resulting in coups and removal of pro-Thaksin leaders. Paetongtarn is backed by a shaky coalition that includes former rivals of her family, and tensions have been brewing over the past few months.

The youngest of Thaksin’s three children, Paetongtarn is also a newcomer to Thai politics with no previous experience in government. She gained popularity during last year’s general election, when she campaigned during the later stages of pregnancy as chief of the Shinawatras’ Pheu Thai party.

Paetongtarn, who is not an elected lawmaker, was the only nominee in the parliamentary vote on Friday. Her swift ascent came after Thailand’s constitutional court removed former prime minister Srettha Thavisin from office over a cabinet appointment that the court said breached ethical standards. Srettha, who was also from Pheu Thai, had served less than a year in the role.

“I really hope that I can make the people feel confident that we can build the opportunities and improve the quality of life and empower all the Thai people,” Paetongtarn said at a news conference after her election on Friday.

The political shake-up comes at a tumultuous time for south-east Asia’s second-largest economy, which has been grappling with slower growth. Pheu Thai has promised to stimulate the economy with a $14bn cash handout programme, but Srettha was unable to put it in motion, and the plan’s fate is now unclear. 

Paetongtarn’s other biggest concern will be the stability of her ruling coalition. The Shinawatras struck a deal with the conservative establishment last year to form the government that coincided with the return to the country of Thaksin, a billionaire telecommunications tycoon turned politician who was ousted in a coup in 2006.

But Thaksin, 75, was indicted in May for allegedly insulting the country’s monarchy in 2015, while Yingluck, who was dismissed by the country’s constitutional court in 2014, remains in exile. Srettha’s removal was triggered by the appointment of a former lawyer and Shinawatra ally.

Analysts said the country’s courts had become a political tool for the royalist establishment to neutralise its political opponents. Last week, the progressive Move Forward party, which won the most votes in the 2023 election but was blocked from power by the Pheu Thai-led coalition, was dissolved over its pledge to reform the country’s harsh lèse-majesté law.

Thailand could see future judicial interventions “to keep Thaksin in shackles,” said Napon Jatusripitak, a visiting fellow at ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore. “The longevity of [Paetongtarn’s] government will depend on keeping coalition partners and conservative stakeholders happy.”

Napon said Paetongtarn’s popularity has declined since the election as Pheu Thai — which had initially sought to ally with Move Forward — abandoned its pledge to not work with military-backed parties.

“Paetongtarn has a long road ahead. She has to work hard to prove that she is someone who answers to the public and not to her father.”