BANGKOK – The Constitutional Court docket’s suspension of Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has raised questions on whether or not her household’s political comeback final 12 months would finish with one other downfall.
Paetongtarn was the third prime minister in her household, after her father, Thaksin Shinawatra, a telecom billionaire who has been one among Thailand’s high political operators, and her aunt, Yingluck Shinawatra, who was the nation’s first feminine prime minister. Thaksin was ousted by a navy coup in 2006 and Yingluck by a court docket ruling in 2014.
Thaksin remained beloved after his ouster amongst voters who noticed in him and his allies a authorities that sorted their pursuits. Whereas campaigning in 2022, Paetongtarn acknowledged her household ties however insisted she was not her father’s proxy. “It’s not the shadow of my dad. I’m my dad’s daughter, all the time and endlessly, however I’ve my very own choices,” she mentioned.
She additionally mentioned she hoped her authorities would be capable to “construct alternative and high quality of life” and “make the nation go ahead.”
Paetongtarn was suspended Tuesday by the court docket pending an ethics investigation a leaked cellphone name with senior Cambodian chief Hun Sen that was perceived as damaging to Thailand’s pursuits and picture.
Eroding belief capped by a diplomatic blunder
Her critics have mentioned Paetongtarn’s authorities has achieved little. Marriage equality turned regulation however was initiated below her predecessor. Controls on cannabis have been retightened after public backlash over decriminalization, however the transfer and its enforcement have been referred to as rushed and complicated.
Her critics additionally cited unsatisfactory outcomes in different Pheu Thai celebration insurance policies, like unequal minimal wage will increase, fixed adjustments in a cash handout program and the stalled and controversial legalization of casinos. In addition they famous the dearth of progress in tariffs talks with the US.
However analysts see the leaked name following border tensions with Cambodia to be essentially the most disastrous occasion by far.
The outrage has centered on Paetongtarn’s comments about an outspoken Thai military commander and the notion that she was making an attempt to appease Hun Sen.
Paetongtarn apologized but additionally denied that she had broken the nation. She ignored requires her to resign or dissolve Parliament to take accountability, which critics noticed as an try by the Pheu Thai celebration to cling to energy.
Napon Jatusripitak, a political science researcher at Singapore’s ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, mentioned her response appeared “completely disconnected from political actuality” and that the scandal has uncovered “her management failures and fuels accusations that she prioritizes household pursuits over nationwide welfare.”
Adoration for the Shinawatra cools
Her father, Thaksin, is believed to be the important thing resolution maker behind Pheu Thai, now led by Paetongtarn. Again and again, Thaksin-backed events have prevailed in nationwide elections however couldn’t keep in workplace after authorized rulings and destabilizing avenue protests engineered by Thaksin’s die-hard foes.
However in 2023, Thaksin alienated a lot of his outdated supporters with what regarded like a self-serving deal together with his former conservative opponents. It allowed his return from exile and his celebration to type the brand new authorities, whereas sidelining the progressive Move Forward Party, which completed first in a nationwide election however was seen by the conservative institution as a higher menace.
Now with the present disaster, issues may drastically change for the Shinawatra household.
“In gentle of the latest controversy, the Shinawatra spell has been damaged. The one viable Shinawatra scion is now tainted,” Napon mentioned. “It will be an understatement to say that the Shinawatra title now not ensures electoral success.”
And never every little thing has been squared away together with her household’s enemies. Yingluck stays in exile, and legal problems — arguably politically impressed — may ship her to jail if she returns to Thailand. Thaksin additionally nonetheless faces some legal challenges.
Thailand’s royalist institution has lengthy been disturbed that Thaksin’s populist insurance policies appeared to threaten their standing and that of the monarchy on the coronary heart of Thai id.
Paetongtarn now additionally faces protests by acquainted faces from the identical conservative, pro-royalist group that opposed her father.
“Historical past appears to be repeating itself in a means. Thailand appears trapped in a depressingly acquainted cycle the place Shinawatra-led governments come to energy, solely to face mounting strain from conventional energy facilities, avenue protests, and extraparliamentary interventions that in the end pressure them from workplace,” Napon mentioned.
Paetongtarn, 38, is the youngest of Thaksin’s three kids. She was an govt in a resort enterprise run by her household earlier than making her public entry into politics in 2021 when the Pheu Thai celebration named her to guide an advisory committee.
She has two kids together with her husband, Pitaka Suksawat, who was a industrial pilot earlier than he started working in one of many Shinawatras’ actual property ventures.
Copyright 2025 The Related Press. All rights reserved. This materials is probably not printed, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed with out permission.
