Thai lawmakers elect Shinawatra's daughter PM

What happened

Thailand's Parliament on Friday elected Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the youngest daughter of polarizing billionaire power broker Thaksin Shinawatra, as prime minister. The country's Constitutional Court removed the previous prime minister, Srettha Thavisin, after less than a year in office. Paetongtarn, 37, will be Thailand's youngest prime minister and its second woman in the role, after her aunt Yingluck Shinawatra.

Who said what

Paetongtarn was named head of her father's Pheu Thai Party last year but has no government experience. Her immediate challenges include "reviving Thailand's stalled economy and avoiding the military coups and court interventions which have deposed four previous administrations led by her family," the BBC said.

Thaksin, overthrown in 2006, returned from exile last year "in what was interpreted as part of a political bargain" with his conservative rivals to stop the progressive Move Forward Party, winners of the 2023 election, The Associated Press said. The military-appointed Senate blocked Move Forward's prime minister candidate and the Constitutional Court disbanded the party last week.

What next?

Even before Paetongtarn was elected, there were questions about how long she would last. "This is a big bet for Thaksin," Titipol Phakdeewanich, a political scientist at Ubon Ratchathani University, said to Reuters. "There is a possibility for her to fail and that is a big risk for the entire Shinawatra dynasty."

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