After receiving overwhelming support from ruling coalition chiefs on Thursday evening, Pheu Thai Party leader Paetongtarn Shinawatra looks set to become Thailand’s next prime minister.
Leaders and key figures of Bhumjaithai, Palang Pracharath, United Thai Nation, Chartthai Pattana, Prachachat, and Chartpattana Kla backed the 37-year-old political debutant for the top job at a press conference held at Shinawatra Tower 3.
The six parties are partners in the Pheu Thai-led coalition government headed until Wednesday by Srettha Thavisin, who was removed as prime minister by the Constitutional Court. The court ruled Srettha had violated the charter by appointing former lawyer Pichit Chuenban as PM’s Office minister despite his prison record.
The Constitution requires that ministers must have “evident integrity” and high ethical standards.
‘Time to move on’
Thursday’s press conference saw Paetongtarn thank her party’s MPs and executives for choosing to nominate her for the House of Representatives vote on a new national leader scheduled for Friday (August 16).
She said she would work to the best of her ability if elected to the top job.
Paetongtarn expressed sympathy for Srettha, who spent less than a year as PM after being nominated for the post by Pheu Thai. “But Thailand has to move on and Pheu Thai is ready to work with other coalition partners to lead the country out of the economic crisis,” she said.
She also thanked the coalition leaders for remaining united and agreeing to “continue working together for the country”.
Support and inspiration from Srettha had helped convince her to “take over the baton” and continue pushing to realise the party’s policy platform, she added.
Thaksin’s ‘trump card’?
Earlier reports suggested Paetongtarn’s father Thaksin Shinawatra favoured nominating the party’s third PM candidate, Chaikasem Nitisiri, as prime minister. The former PM and Pheu Thai patriarch reportedly made his preference known during a meeting with coalition leaders at his mansion in Bangkok on Wednesday evening.
Analysts said Thaksin, believed to be Pheu Thai’s de-facto leader, did not want his daughter to become prime minister at this time since she was his “trump card” in the ongoing political game.
It is no secret that both her parents have been cautious about allowing Paetongtarn to lead a government, given the fate of previous prime ministers from the Shinawatra family – Thaksin, his sister Yingluck, and his brother-in-law Somchai Wongsawat.
Thaksin and Yingluck were ousted in separate military coups while Somchai lost his seat after his People’s Power Party, Thaksin’s proxy, was disbanded by court order.
However, Pheu Thai MPs and executives resolved at a meeting on Thursday morning to nominate Paetongtarn amid concern over the ageing Chaikasem’s health. Leaders of other coalition partners pledged their support for Paetongtarn later in the day.
Qualifications questioned
The heir to the Shinawatra dynasty appears to be Pheu Thai’s best option, despite not being the coalition’s strongest candidate. Other coalition leaders have more experience and a list of ministerial posts and achievements in their CVs.
Hence, critics question her qualifications and experience to lead the government. Paetongtarn was responsible for the Srettha government’s soft power strategy, but her performance left many unimpressed.
She faced more criticism recently for attacking the Bank of Thailand over its refusal to lower its policy interest rate as requested by the Pheu Thai-led government.
Nicknamed “Ung-ing” by her family, Paetongtarn was born in the United States on August 21, 1986, as the third and youngest child of Thaksin and his ex-wife Potjaman Na Pombejra.
Paetongtarn earned a bachelor's degree in political science from Chulalongkorn University (CU) in 2008 and a master’s in international hotel management from the University of Surrey in England.
Suspicions were raised over her university admission exam scores in 2004 while Thaksin was prime minister.
Prof Chaiyan Chaiyaporn, a lecturer at Paetongtarn’s former CU faculty, wrote on Facebook in 2021 that she achieved “miraculously high scores” in her second tests for the national university entrance exam in 2004.
Paetongtarn’s score in her math tests soared from 27 on her first attempt to 63 out of 100 on her second, with similar improvements of 20 points for English and Thai and 26 points for sociology, according to the academic.
Before entering politics, she was a major shareholder of property giant SC Asset Corporation, a Shinawatra family business, and a director of the Thaicom Foundation.
She held shares worth more than 4.3 billion baht in more than 20 companies spanning the real estate, telecoms, and media sectors.
Paetongtarn also served as chief executive of Rende Development Co Ltd, which manages properties owned by the Shinawatra family, including SC Park Hotel, Alpine Golf & Sports Club, and Thames Valley Khao Yai Hotel.
She is married to commercial airline pilot Pidok Sooksawas, and the couple has two children.
