Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra attends a press conference at the Pheu Thai party headquarters following a royal endorsement ceremony in Bangkok, Thailand, on August 18, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Paetongtarn Shinawatra, daughter of the divisive former leader Thaksin Shinawatra, became Thailand’s Prime Minister after receiving a royal letter of endorsement Sunday (August 18, 2024), two days after she was chosen by Parliament following a court order that removed her predecessor.

She replaces another leader from the same Pheu Thai Party, at the head of a coalition that includes military parties associated with the coup that deposed the party’s last government.

Ms. Paetongtarn is the third Shinawatra to hold the job, after her billionaire father and her aunt Yingluck Shinawatra. Both were removed from office and forced into exile in coups, although Thaksin returned to Thailand last year as Pheu Thai formed a government.

She received the letter of appointment in a ceremony at the party’s headquarters in Bangkok, attended by senior members of parties in the governing coalition and her father, who has no formal role but is widely seen de facto leader of Pheu Thai.

The father and daughter arrived in the same car, holding hands as they walked in together with beaming smiles.

Ms. Paetongtarn thanked the king, the Thai people and lawmakers, saying she will perform her duties “with an open mind,” and will “make every square inch of Thailand a space that allows Thai people to dare to dream, dare to create and dare to dictate their own future.”

Ms. Paetongtarn became Prime Minister days after the Constitutional Court removed Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, after less than a year in office. The court found him guilty of a serious ethical breach for appointing a Cabinet minister who had been jailed for contempt of court after an alleged attempt to bribe a judge.

Ms. Paetongtarn is also Thailand’s second female Prime Minister after her aunt, and the country’s youngest leader at 37.

Pheu Thai is the latest in a string of populist parties affiliated with Thaksin, who was ousted in a 2006 military coup, which triggered nearly two decades of deep political divisions that pitted a mostly poor, rural majority in the north that supported Thaksin against royalists, the military and their urban backers.

Parties linked to Thaksin won the most seats in every national election from 2001 until 2023, when it lost to the more progressive Move Forward Party.

Pheu Thai was able to form a government after Move Forward was blocked by the military-appointed Senate, partnering with former rivals in what was widely interpreted as a political bargain with the conservative establishment to stop Move Forward from forming a government.

The same day, Thaksin returned from exile and briefly reported to prison to for an eight-year sentence on charges related to corruption and abuse of power. He was moved almost immediately from prison to the hospital on grounds of ill health, and about a week after that the king reduced his sentence to a single year. He was released on parole in February after spending six months serving time in the hospital.

Since his release, Thaksin has maintained a high profile traveling the country, making public appearances.

On Saturday, Thaksin’s lawyer Winyat Chatmontree posted on Facebook that Thaksin was among the convicts granted a royal amnesty by the king on the occasion of his birthday in late July. It took effect Sunday, which means Thaksin is free ahead of his original parole schedule.

However, the amnesty does not protect Thaksin from an ongoing case for defaming the monarchy, which was indicted in June after being originally filed in 2016. It has been seen by some analysts as a warning from Thaksin’s enemies that he should tone down his political activities.

A general view of Thailand Senate. (File photo used for representational purpose only.)
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Forty caretaker senators on May 17 petitioned Thailand’s Constitutional Court to dismiss Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin over a Cabinet appointment which they say breaches the constitution.

The senators object to the appointment of Pichit Chuenban, a former lawyer, as Minister to Mr. Srettha’s office last month during a Cabinet reshuffle.

Mr. Pichit was jailed for six months in 2008 for contempt of court after an alleged attempt to bribe court officials with two million baht ($55,218) [($1 = 36.2200 baht)] hidden in a paper grocery bag. His law licence was suspended for five years by the Lawyers Council of Thailand after the incident.

The senators said they were seeking a court ruling on whether Mr. Pichit has the integrity and ethical standards required by the constitution to hold a Ministerial position and whether Mr. Srettha had breached the law by making the appointment.

“Pichit is not qualified to be a Minister but the Prime Minister still nominated him for the position,” Senator Derekrid Janekrongtham told Reuters. “The Prime Minister’s action may therefore breach ethical standards as well,” he said.

Government critics say Mr. Pichit was appointed to the Cabinet due to his close relationship with a client, ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who returned to Thailand last year after 15 years in exile. Mr. Thaksin still wields considerable political influence over the government.

Government spokesman Chai Wacharonke dismissed the senators’ accusation, and said the government had carefully vetted Mr. Pichit’s qualification. “Our legal team insists that the appointment is lawful and there is no problem with his qualification,” Mr. Chai told Reuters.

The 40 senators, whose term ended earlier this month but who remain as caretakers until a new selection process is completed in July, are part of an appointed Upper House of Parliament introduced by the military when it changed Thailand’s constitution after a 2014 coup.

Last year, the same senators closed ranks with military-backed parties to block the anti-establishment Move Forward party from forming a government.

Pita Limjaroenrat. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Pita Limjaroenrat, whose reformist party won the most seats at Thailand’s national elections in May, resigned as its leader on September 15.

The young challenger led the Move Forward Party (MFP) to the top spot in the polls, capitalising on a swell of voters furious at a near-decade of junta-backed rule.

However, he was stopped becoming Prime Minister by entrenched conservative blocs in Parliament, and was later suspended as an MP.

The MFP left a coalition partnership with opposition rivals Pheu Thai, who went on to form a coalition government with pro-military parties and said they would go into opposition.

“I resigned as the MFP’s party leader to pave the way for an MP that is able to have a voice in Parliament, be the opposition leader,” Pita wrote on his official Facebook page. Under current rules, the Leader of the Opposition must be an MP.

“Due to my MP suspension, I won’t be able to get my MP position and be opposition leader in the near future,” Pita posted.

In July, he was suspended as an MP while waiting for the Constitutional Court’s ruling over his ownership of shares in a now-defunct media company. MPs are prohibited from owning media shares, under the Thai constitution. In the Facebook post, Pita said he would remain closely involved in the party.

“No matter what my role is, I will still be involved in MFP and will work closely with the people to my fullest capacity, so that we could achieve something together.”

Thailand’s Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin reads the policy statement at parliament in Bangkok, Thailand, on September 11, 2023.
| Photo Credit: AP

Thailand’s new Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin vowed to act quickly to relieve the country’s economic problems in his inaugural speech to Parliament on September 11, following four months of political uncertainty while parliamentarians were unable to agree on a government.

Mr. Srettha entered politics after a career as a major real estate developer, and his government is facing high expectations and pressing demands to address a range of economic, political, social and environmental problems in its four-year term.

Thailand’s economy has slumped after the COVID-19 pandemic all but crippled its lucrative tourism industry. Public debt rose to more than 60% of GDP in 2023, while household debt spiked to over 90% of the GDP this year, he said.

Thailand’s post-pandemic economy is like “a sick person,” with a sluggish recovery that puts the nation “at risk of entering a recession,” Srettha said.

He vowed to quickly take measures to relieve debt problems, mitigate rising energy costs and boost tourism, without going into detail.

He also said the government would work immediately to implement a campaign promise — a 10,000-baht ($280) handout for all Thais 16 and older to stimulate the economy by boosting short-term spending. Details were not given, though he’s previously said it would cost up to 560 billion baht ($15.8 billion) and will be ready to deliver by the first quarter of next year.

The promise drew major interest in the election campaign, but critics have questioned whether it would have a sustainable effect.

Long-term goals cited by Mr. Srettha include boosting international trade, supporting start-up businesses, investing more in transport infrastructure, improving agricultural production, empowering local government and increasing access to land ownership. The government would also seek to amend the current military-installed constitution through a process that allows public participation.

These steps would allow the economy to grow and its people to be able to “live with dignity,” he said.

The results of Thailand’s elections in May revealed a strong mandate for change after nearly a decade under military control.

But Parliament failed to endorse a coalition formed by the progressive Move Forward party, which won the most seats in the May polls, because members in the appointed and conservative Senate were alienated by its calls for minor reforms to the monarchy.

Mr. Srettha’s Pheu Thai party, which ran a close second in the election, then formed a broader coalition without Move Forward and was able to win Senate support. But it succeeded only by including pro-military parties and several parties that were part of the previous government, reneging on a campaign pledge not to do so. The deal raised skepticism over Pheu Thai’s ability to fulfill its election campaign promises while having to accommodate its allies that come from all along the political spectrum.

Reforms to the military — a powerful political player that has staged two coups since 2006 — were part of the platforms of both Move Forward and Pheu Thai, Srettha addressed the point diplomatically in his speech, promising “co-development” with the military to end mandatory conscription, reduce the excessive number of generals and ensure transparency in defense ministry procurement procedures. The ministry is headed by Pheu Thai’s Sutin Klangsang, one of the few civilians to hold the portfolio, usually controlled by veteran senior military officers.