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Who is Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Thailand’s new prime minister? • FRANCE 24 English

  • August 16, 2024



Who is Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Thailand’s new prime minister? • FRANCE 24 English

Thailand’s parliament elected Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the youngest daughter of former leader Thaksin Shinawatra, as the country’s new prime minister on Friday (August 16), just two days after her predecessor and ally Srettha Thavisin was dismissed by the country’s Constitutional Court.
#Thailand #Shinawatra #PM

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21 comments

  9. The downfall of dynastic politics, which is a key feature of the Shinawatra family’s political activities. If Paetongtarn is elected as prime minister, she will be the fourth person from the Shinawatra clan, following Thaksin himself, then Somchai (brother-in-law), Yingluck (younger sister), and Paetongtarn (daughter). This doesn’t even include other members of the clan who have entered politics, such as Jae Daeng, or people like Chaisit, whom Thaksin appointed as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces when he was prime minister.

    Why is dynastic politics the downfall of democracy? Because family ties are given more importance than actual abilities to perform duties within a democratic system. This blocks opportunities for those outside the family, other members of the party, or ordinary people with high capabilities but not enough power or money. They get sidelined simply because they aren’t part of the family. This monopolization of power fosters authoritarian political behavior because people voting in elections focus not on individual capabilities but on the family’s political influence. So, even if one claims that the people have elected them, it cannot be denied that this nurtures authoritarian behavior, where the choices for voters are predetermined.

    Thaksin openly admitted himself that he doesn’t trust people outside his family. That’s why we rarely see Thaksin promoting outsiders to represent his family.

  10. What happened with Srettha truly marks the end of the Pheu Thai Party. Thaksin’s eagerness to return home led him to make a deal with the royalist faction, thinking that he was important because they supposedly needed him to block the Move Forward Party. Thaksin really overestimated his importance. As it turns out, the royalists don’t give a damn about Thaksin or Pheu Thai. That deal is over. Today, the royalists have taken full control. Not only did they use Thaksin and Pheu Thai to block Move Forward after the election, but they also used the courts to crush Move Forward further, and now they’re using the same courts to take down Srettha.

    Pheu Thai’s misfortune lies in the betrayal and broken promises of that day, which caused them to lose a lot of their supporters. Now, not only are the party’s and Thaksin’s fates in the hands of the royalists, but the public’s faith in Pheu Thai has also disappeared. Forget about the next election. It’s laughable that Thaksin once aimed for 200 seats. Now, he’s settling for much less. Thinking about a landslide victory is absurd at this point. This is truly a no-win situation. They can’t exit the deal, and even if they could, many supporters wouldn’t back them anymore. This is the true end.

  11. She is a young novice whose claim to power is because she is the daughter of Thaksin Shinawatra.
    In third world countries, democracy have many problems.
    Corruption, nepotism etc.

  21. I swear a freight train might as well have ran over me because I didn't see it coming and as same as the latest political decision in Thailand . The Shinawatra's are back in business .

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