Thailand’s king endorses Paetongtarn Shinawatra as new prime minister

By Kocha Olarn, CNN

Bangkok (CNN) — Thailand’s king has officially endorsed Paetongtarn Shinawatra, a scion of the country’s most famed and divisive political dynasty, to become the country’s new prime minister.

Her appointment follows a series of twists and turns in Thai politics over the past week, during which the Constitutional Court ousted Srettha Thavisin, her predecessor from the same Pheu Thai party.

The country’s youngest ever prime minister at 37 years old, Paetongtarn is the daughter of ousted former leader Thaksin Shinawatra. She becomes Thailand’s second woman prime minister, after her aunt – and Thaksin’s sister – Yingluck Shinawatra.

On Sunday, King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s approval was read to her by the secretary of the House of Representatives at Pheu Thai headquarters in the capital Bangkok.

Paetongtarn got down on her knees and paid homage to a portrait of the king, before giving a short speech thanking him.

“This is the highest honor and pride in my life,” she said after the endorsement.

“I, my family and the Pheu Thai party greatly appreciate His Majesty’s kindness. I am determined to perform my duties with my loyalty and honesty for the benefit of the nation and the people,” she added.

She is expected to appoint her 35-member cabinet and will lead the ministers in swearing an oath before the king. The new government will, she said, continue to push a soft-power initiative that taps the country’s historic and contemporary cultures, as well as tourism.

Asked by reporters if her appointment would be seen as the return of a dynasty, Paetongtarn said she wouldn’t be influenced by others. She said she may ask her father for advice, but stressed she has her own ideas, adding that Thaksin will not take up any role in the administration.

She pledged to put problems affecting the nation first, vowing to cooperate with all parties.

“No one wants to repeat what happened to my father and my aunt,” Paetongtarn said.

Thaksin’s economic and populist policies enabled him to build a political machine that has dominated the country for the past two decades, despite his ouster in a 2006 coup.

But parties allied to the telecoms billionaire – and former owner of Manchester City Football Club – have struggled to hold on to power, having been forced out in the past due to coups or court decisions.

Yingluck was removed from office before the military seized power in a 2014 coup, and Thaksin went into self-imposed exile in 2006 to escape corruption charges after the military toppled his government. He returned to Thailand from exile in August last year.

Last week, the Constitutional Court ruled Srettha breached ethics rules by appointing to his cabinet a lawyer – and Thaksin aide – who had served prison time.

Srettha’s dismissal was the latest blow to the Thaksin-backed Pheu Thai, which has frequently run afoul of Thailand’s conservative establishment – a small but powerful clique of military, royalist and business elites.

On Friday, the national parliament voted Paetongtarn into the role after she was nominated as the sole candidate to replace Srettha by Pheu Thai’s ruling coalition.

She was one of three prime ministerial candidates for the Pheu Thai party ahead of national elections in May, and made international headlines when she gave birth just two weeks before the vote.

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