BANGKOK: Paetongtarn Shinawatra, a member of Thailand’s most well-known political dynasty, has a date with fate less than two weeks after giving birth to her second child.
The 36-year-old aims to deliver victory for the opposition Pheu Thai party, the most recent iteration of the movement started by her billionaire father, Thaksin Shinawatra, when Thailand goes to the polls on Sunday. Paetongtarn, who is running to become Thailand’s youngest prime minister ever, resumed campaigning after giving birth to her baby on May 1. However, so far, she has only done so via video link.
Paetongtarn, a political newbie who managed the hotel division of her family’s multibillion-dollar business empire until last year, is now the face of their most recent conflict with the military establishment that toppled her father and aunt from office. Before the birth of her kid on May 1, Paetongtarn was practically always on the campaign trail, happily shaking hands with supporters at rallies in the sweltering heat.
She introduced her kid to the public two days after giving birth, referring to him as her “secret power,” and vowed to return to the campaign trail. She gave a video speech to hundreds of supporters in Bangkok on Friday, pleading with them to provide Pheu with Thai a resounding win to foil the military establishment’s efforts to keep the party out of power.
Energy, youth
Paetongtarn also referred to as Ung Ing in Thailand, is the third child of Thaksin, a former police officer turned wealthy telecoms entrepreneur who won two elections in the early 2000s before being overthrown in a coup in 2006. She was born and raised in Bangkok, studied hotel administration in the UK, and wed commercial pilot Pidok Sooksawas in 2019 with two lavish receptions in Bangkok and Hong Kong. There are now two kids for the couple.
She has half a million Instagram followers who follow her jet-setting lifestyle. Her youth and energy set her apart from her primary military-allied rivals—two stiff-necked former army leaders. She has electrified the Pheu Thai base, bringing the Shinawatra brand to a new generation while winning over older Thaksin followers with regular social media declarations of filial piety. She is frequently dressed in designer labels or the party’s distinctive bright red.
Her charisma on the campaign trail has amazed some who had written her off as little more than a figurehead with the correct name.
If successful, Paetongtarn will be the fourth family member to become prime minister after Thaksin, her aunt Yingluck and Uncle Somchai Wongsawat.
She hopes to avoid the fate of her father and aunt, ousted by military coups in 2006 and 2014, respectively, and her uncle, who was thrown out of office by a court ruling. Paetongtarn and the military face a new challenge as she tries to connect with young voters.
She is encountering a tough fight against a rival opposition outfit, the Move Forward Party, which attracted many of those who participated in the 2020 pro-democracy street protest movement.
