BANGKOK — Political newcomer Pathontar Shinawatra was sworn in as Thailand’s youngest prime minister on Friday with the backing of parliament, just a day after being thrust into the spotlight amid a ruthless power struggle between warring elites.
The 37-year-old daughter of controversial political heavyweight Thaksin Shinawatra faces a tough test after clearing the 51 percent threshold needed to win the election, just two days after her ally Suretha Thavisin was ousted as prime minister by the judiciary at the heart of Thailand’s two decades of uninterrupted turmoil.
For Mr. Paethonthan, it could be at stake the legacy and political future of his billionaire Shinawatra clan, once an unstoppable populist force but last year suffering its first electoral defeat in more than two decades and having to make a deal with bitter enemies in the military to form a government.
Prime Minister Pathomtharn will face immediate challenges on many fronts with the economy struggling, his party’s waning popularity and a flagship cash transfer program worth 500 billion baht ($14.25 billion) yet to be implemented.
Pathuntharn, who has no prior government experience, will be Thailand’s second female prime minister and Shinawatra’s third, after her aunt Yingluck Shinawatra and her 75-year-old father Thaksin Shinawatra, Thailand’s most influential and controversial politician.
Suretta’s ouster less than a year after taking office will be a stark reminder of the kind of hostility Paethontharn may face as Thailand sinks into a tumultuous cycle of coups and court rulings that has seen political parties dissolved and several governments and prime ministers toppled.
The Shinawatra family and their business allies are bearing the brunt of a crisis that pits a popular political party against a powerful coalition of conservatives, old wealthy families and royalist generals with deep connections to key institutions.
Nine days earlier, the same court that sacked Sretta over cabinet appointments also dissolved the opposition Forward Party, which stands to win the 2023 election, over its campaign to change the law against insulting the king, saying it could undermine the constitutional monarchy. The party has since formed a new opposition party.
The unrest of the past few days also marks the collapse of a fragile truce between Thaksin and his rivals in the establishment and the military veterans that would allow him to make a dramatic return from 15 years in exile in 2023, with his ally Suretha taking over as prime minister the same day.
The decision to appoint Phaethonthan at such a critical juncture surprised many analysts, who expected Thaksin to delay the end of the dynasty and avoid embroiling him in the kind of fighting that led to the downfall of Thaksin and his sister, Yingluck, who fled overseas to avoid imprisonment after being ousted by the military.
