Thailand’s parliament on Friday elected political newcomer Patongtarn Shinawatra as the country’s youngest prime minister, a day after the election hit the headlines amid an ongoing power struggle among the country’s rival elites.
The 37-year-old daughter of divisive political heavyweight Thaksin Shinawatra won the House vote and faces a tough challenge to succeed her successor, two days after her ally Sretha Thawisin was ousted as prime minister by the judiciary that has led Thailand to two decades of turmoil.
The legacy and political future of the billionaire Shinawatra family could be at stake for Patongtarn, whose once-invincible populist force suffered its first electoral defeat in two decades last year and had to compromise with its arch foes in the military to form a government.
Patongtarn has never served in government and would be Thailand’s second female prime minister and the third Shinawatra to hold the top job after her aunt Yingluck Shinawatra and her 75-year-old father Thaksin, the country’s most influential and polarizing politician.
Patongtarn won with 319 votes, or nearly two-thirds of the House. She was not present in parliament and watched the vote from Pheu Thai headquarters.
He faces immediate challenges on a number of fronts, as the economy is faltering and his Pheu Thai Party’s popularity is waning, and the party has yet to complete its major cash distribution program worth 500 billion baht ($14.25 billion).
Unfavorable climate
Shrestha’s fall after less than a year in office is a stark reminder of the kind of hostility Patongtarn could face, as Thailand is caught in a tumultuous cycle of coups and court rulings that have led to the disintegration of political parties and the ouster of multiple governments and prime ministers.
Shinawatra and his business allies have borne the brunt of the crisis, which has pitted parties with broad appeal against a powerful coalition of conservatives, old wealthy families and monarchist generals with deep connections in key institutions.
Nine days ago, the same court that sacked Shrestha over the Cabinet appointments case also dissolved the opposition Move Forward party – the winner of the 2023 election – for its campaign to amend a law against insulting the crown, which it said risked undermining the constitutional monarchy. It has since formed a new opposition party.
The turmoil of the past few days also suggests a fragile truce between Thaksin and his rivals and the military old guard, which had allowed Thaksin to make a dramatic comeback from 15 years of self-exile in 2023, and for ally Shrestha to become prime minister on the same day, has collapsed.
The decision to field Patongtarn at such a crucial juncture has surprised many analysts, who had expected Thaksin to delay the toppling of his dynasty and spare Patongtarn the battles that led to the defeat of him and his sister Yingluck, who both fled abroad to avoid jail after their governments were ousted by the military.