Thailand’s Paetongtarn Shinawatra Sworn in as Prime Minister

Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the daughter of divisive former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, was sworn into office as Thailand’s next prime minister on August 18, two days after her election by the Thai parliament. Her largely formal approval as the country’s new premier by King Vajiralongkorn was read out by House of Representatives Secretary Apat Sukhanand at a ceremony in Bangkok.

At a subsequent press conference, Paetongtarn vowed to “serve everyone equally and wholeheartedly,” and to govern for “every age, every gender, every diversity.”

“I am committed to pushing forward key policies, from economic reforms and the 30-baht health care improvements to enhancing digital infrastructure and promoting Thailand’s soft power on the global stage,” she said. “Together, let’s turn any challenges into opportunities, making Thailand a place where everyone can dream, create, and shape their future.”

In a parliamentary vote on August 16, Paetongtarn, the leader of the Pheu Thai party, gained the support of a substantial majority of the House of Representatives.

At just 37 years of age (she turned 38 on August 21), she became the country’s youngest-ever leader, and the third member of the Shinawatra clan to serve as prime minister, after her father Thaksin (2001-2006), and aunt Yingluck (2011-2014).

Paetongtarn’s sudden elevation came after Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, a former real estate mogul from Pheu Thai who took office after last year’s general election, was unseated in a shock decision by the Constitutional Court on August 14. The court voted 5-4 to dismiss Srettha from office for an “ethical violation” relating to the appointment to his Cabinet of an official who had previously served a prison sentence for bribing a court official.

The ruling came a week after the Constitutional Court ordered the disbanding of the Move Forward Party, a progressive party that won a plurality of votes at last year’s general election and held the most seats in the Thai House of Representatives. Taken together, the two decisions are a striking instance of judicial invigilation that places tight limits on the outcomes possible within Thailand’s nominally democratic political system.

From her recent comments, it seems that Paetongtarn is set to continue with the economic agenda of the short-lived Srettha administration. The one question mark concerns the fate of Srettha’s 450 billion baht ($12.5 billion) “digital wallet” stimulus program. There have been reports that Thaksin, the primary powerbroker behind the Pheu Thai façade, had counseled the abandonment of the costly policy, which will see around 45 million Thai citizens receive payments of 10,000 baht ($277).

Paetongtarn has denied that she is preparing to abandon the stimulus, claiming that her father had advised her to seek more opinions on the controversial scheme. “The digital wallet scheme is a project we intend to use as a major economic stimulus,” Paetongtarn told the press conference on August 18. She added that her father had no authority over her government but since he “is a person respected by many, I may seek his advice depending on his expertise.”

This touches on the fundamental challenge facing Thailand’s new prime minister: the need to dispel the notion that she is simply acting as a front for a third Thaksin Shinawatra administration. This is not an unreasonable inference: like Srettha, Paetongtarn is largely a political neophyte, having spent most of her career helping manage the Shinawatra family’s hotel business.

The perception that Thaksin is pulling the strings is likely to rile up “yellow” royalists who spent so many years opposing the Shinawatras, at the same time that Thaksin’s pact with the Thai conservative establishment has alienated many former supporters and swelled the ranks of the People’s Party, the latest iteration of the Move Forward party.

If Paetongtarn’s parentage has been the obvious factor in her rapid rise to the slippery apex of Thai politics it also now factors as a potential liability.