Thailand’s parliament will vote on Friday whether to recognize Paethonthan Shinawatra, the billionaire daughter of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, as its future leader after more than a week of political turmoil.
Paethonthan, 37, was chosen as prime ministerial candidate after 24 hours of frantic negotiations triggered by a court ruling that removed former prime minister Suretta Tavissin from office.
Thailand’s parliament convened on Friday morning to approve Pathontharn’s nomination as prime minister, with a vote expected later the same day.
She is the youngest of three siblings of controversial political heavyweight Thaksin Shinawatra, whose father was ousted in a 2006 coup but remains highly influential.
If approved by parliament, Paethontharn would become the fourth member of the Shinawatra clan to serve as prime minister. Thaksin’s brother-in-law, Somchai Wongsawat, served briefly as prime minister in 2008, and his sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, served from 2011 to 2014. Both Somchai and Yingluck were removed from office by court rulings.
Pathuntharn will be the second woman to lead Thailand, after Yingluck.
Lawmakers will vote on Friday on whether to confirm Patontern, who now needs 247 votes out of the 493 lawmakers in parliament.
Patontern was popular among his father’s loyal supporters in last year’s election but lacks political experience and, if confirmed, would take office at a volatile time.
Thaksin returned to Thailand last year after 15 years in exile after striking an impossible deal with his old enemy, the royalist military junta, in a controversial deal seen as a betrayal by some of his party’s former supporters.
The old rivals were united by a common enemy: Onward, a popular youth party that won the most votes by promising reforms to make Thailand more democratic and break up big business. The court decision to oust Suretha on Wednesday underscored the delicate nature of the deal.
Property tycoon Suretha led Thailand for less than a year before becoming the fourth prime minister in 16 years to be removed from office by the Constitutional Court in a ruling that many see as political, finding Suretha had violated the constitution by appointing ministers who had served time in prison.
A week ago, a court dissolved the Progressive Party, which had promised to reform the country’s strict lèse majesté laws.
“In the space of a week, the court has disenfranchised more than 14 million voters by dissolving the party of their choice and dismissed a democratically elected prime minister,” said Napong Jatusripitak, a visiting researcher at Singapore’s ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute, adding that the ruling amounted to a judicial coup.
After being named Pheu Thai’s prime ministerial candidate, Pathontharn said he respected Suretta and thought it was unfortunate what happened to him, but added that “the country must move forward.”
“I have confidence in the Pheu Thai Party and I believe all parties in the coalition will lead the country out of the economic crisis,” she said.
Pathontharn played a key role in Pheu Thai’s election campaign, capitalizing on the popularity of her surname among older, rural voters in the north and northeast. She campaigned even while pregnant and took part in rallies by video call when she was unable to travel. But she ultimately did not stand for prime minister in last year’s election.
Ken Rohattaepanont, an expert on Thai politics, said the coalition between Pheu Thai and its old foes would probably remain in power given that both sides want to keep the Forward Party’s successor, the People’s Party, out of power.
“But Thaksin’s freedom of navigation is being increasingly restricted,” he added, which has put him in the uncomfortable position of choosing his daughter as prime minister – something the family is reportedly uncomfortable about given the frequency of costly lawsuits filed against politicians.
