Parliament elects ex-leader Thaksin's daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra as Thailand's prime minister

Thailands Parliament elected Paetongtarn Shinawatra the youngest daughter of divisive former leader Thaksin Shinawatra as the countrys new prime minister on FridayPaetongtarn becomes Thailands third leader from the Shinawatra family after her father ndash who was ousted in a coup before returning from exile last year ndash and her aunt Yingluck Shinawatra who lives in exile Paetongtarn also became Thailands second female prime minister after her aunt and the countrys youngest leader at 37She is the leader of the ruling Pheu Thai party but was not an elected lawmaker which was not required for her to be a candidate for prime minister Paetongtarn was the sole nominee for the post and got a majority of the votes in Parliament with the voting ongoingThe last prime minister had been removed by the Constitutional Court two days ago over an ethics violationThaksin is one of Thailands most popular but divisive political figures and was ousted by a military coup in 2006 He is widely seen as a de facto leader of Pheu Thai the latest in a string of parties linked to him His residual popularity and influence is a factor behind the political support for PaetongtarnHer public entry into politics came in 2021 when the Pheu Thai party announced she would lead an inclusion advisory committee She was appointed as leader of Pheu Thai last year after she was named one of its three prime ministerial candidates ahead of the pollsWhen Paetongtarn was on the campaign trail for Pheu Thai she acknowledged her family ties but insisted she was not just her fathers proxyIts not the shadow of my dad I am my dads daughter always and forever but I have my own decisions she told a reporterHowever her fathers shadow is too big to be dismissed and her work will not be easy with him continuing to call political shots for Pheu Thai said Petra Alderman a political research fellow at Englands University of BirminghamThaksin was a political force to reckon with but he was also a liability she said adding He has a tendency to overplay his political hand so serving in his shadow has never been easyPaetongtarns nomination followed the removal of Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin on Wednesday after less than a year in office The Constitutional Court found him guilty of a serious ethical breach regarding his appointment of a Cabinet member who was jailed in connection with an alleged bribery attemptIt was the second major ruling in a week to shake Thai politics The same court last week dissolved the progressive Move Forward party which won last years general election but was blocked from taking power The party has already regrouped as the Peoples PartyPheu Thai and its predecessors had won all national elections since 2001 with core populist policies pledging to solve economic problems and bridge income equality until it lost to the reformist Move Forward in 2023 It however was given a chance to form a government after Move Forward was blocked from taking power by the previous Senate a militaryappointed bodyMove Forward was excluded from the coalition by Pheu Thai which went on to join hands with parties affiliated with the military government that ousted it in a coup The move drew criticism from some of its supporters but party officials say it was necessary to break the deadlock and start reconciliation after decades of deep political divisionsThaksin returned to Thailand last year after years in exile in what was interpreted as part of a political bargain between Pheu Thai and their longstanding rivals in the conservative establishment to stop Move Forward Party from forming a governmentThe former senators were given special power to veto a prime ministerial candidate by the constitution adopted in 2017 under a military government However that power expired when their term ended in May New members of the Senate selected in a convoluted process last month do not retain the vetoA candidate now needs just a majority from the lower house or at least 247 votes The current 11 partycoalition led by Pheu Thai now has 314 lawmakers in the lower house and they have declared their unanimous support for PaetongtarnThe coalition under the leadership of Paetongtarn could strengthen their unity because Paetongtarn possesses something that Srettha does not a direct line to her powerful father who has the final say said Napon Jatusripitak a political science researcher at Singapores ISEASYusof Ishak InstituteIn a strange way it creates a clear chain of command and curbs factionalism he said adding Paetongtarn will be given clear jurisdictions on where she can exercise her own agency and where it is a matter between her father and the coalition membersWith Move Forward dissolved and the partys only prime ministerial candidate Pita Limjaroenrat banned from political activities Napon believes its the time that the rest of major political parties resume a game of musical chairs of the premiership race that has been put on hold with an agreement to share power regardless of who becomes the prime ministerMost importantly the overarching goal remains the same to keep the music playing and exclude the reformists from power he saidWith AP inputs