The Thai King has endorsed Paetongtarn Shinawatra as the new prime minister

Paetongtarn Shinawatra was endorsed as prime minister by Thailand’s monarch on Sunday, two days after parliament elected her. This endorsement will enable her to establish a cabinet in the upcoming weeks.

Paetongtarn, 37, assumes the role of Thailand’s youngest prime minister within days of the Constitutional Court’s dismissal of her ally, Srettha Thavisin, as premier. This judiciary has been instrumental in Thailand’s two-decade-long period of intermittent political instability.

In a house vote on Friday, Paetongtarn, the daughter of the divisive former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, secured nearly two-thirds of the vote to become Thailand’s second female prime minister and the third Shinawatra to assume the office, following her aunt Yingluck Shinawatra and Thaksin.

The House of Representatives Secretary, Apat Sukhanand, read out the formal sanction by King Maha Vajiralongkorn at a ceremony in Bangkok on Sunday.

Paetongtarn, who was attired in her official uniform, kneeled in veneration of a portrait of the monarch before delivering a brief speech in which she expressed her gratitude to the king and the representatives of the people for the support she had received as prime minister.

“As head of the executive branch, I will do my duty together with the legislators with an open heart,” she emphasized. “I will listen to all opinions so together we can take the country forward with stability,” she reiterated.

Paetongtarn, who has never previously held a government position, is confronted with a multitude of obstacles, including a faltering economy and a gradual decline in the popularity of her Pheu Thai party. The party has yet to fulfill its centerpiece digital wallet cash distribution program, which is valued at 500 billion baht ($15 billion).

The regal endorsement was accepted by Paetongtarn, who then embraced her father Thaksin and other family members.

In her inaugural press conference, Paetongtarn declared that she would maintain the policies of her predecessor, Srettha, which include the implementation of “major” economic stimulus and reform, the control of illicit substances, the enhancement of the country’s universal healthcare system, and the promotion of gender diversity.

The government will not abandon its flagship digital wallet policy, she stated, but it will endeavor to “study and listen to additional options” to ensure that the scheme is fiscally responsible.

“The objective is to stimulate the economy, and this objective remains unchanged,” Paetongtarn stated.

According to the prime minister, she has no intention of appointing her father Thaksin to any government position, but she will consult with him.

Next month, Paetongtarn stated that parliament will be presented with the specifics of her government’s policies.

Paetongtarn is reminded of the risk she faces as Thailand is embroiled in a tumultuous cycle of coups and court rulings that have disbanded political parties and overthrown multiple governments and prime ministers, as evidenced by the fall of her predecessor Srettha after less than a year in office.

The billionaire Shinawatra family’s political future and legacy are also at risk. Last year, the once unstoppable populist juggernaut suffered its first election defeat in over two decades and was compelled to negotiate an agreement with its bitter adversaries in the military to establish a government.

The turmoil of recent days suggests that a fragile truce between Thaksin and his rivals in the royalist establishment, which had facilitated the tycoon’s dramatic return from 15 years of self-exile in 2023 and his ally Srettha’s election as premier on the same day, has been breached.

Over a week ago, the court that discharged Srettha over a cabinet appointment dissolved the anti-establishment Move Forward Party, the 2023 election winner, due to a campaign to modify a royal insult law that the court deemed could undermine the constitutional monarchy.

The People’s Party, the opposition’s most successful vehicle, has since reorganized itself as a formidable adversary to Pheu Thai.