Why Are the Shinawatra So Influential in Thailand?
Bangkok, Thailand, 16 August 2024: The Pheu Thai-led coalition has elected 37-year-old Paetongtarn Shinawatra. The daughter of billionaire former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and niece to another former Prime Minister, Yingluck Shinawatra.
Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Prime Minister of Thailand, and daughter and niece Thaksin and Yingluck Shinawatra
Thaksin and his sister Yingluck, both former Prime Ministers, fled the country after facing charges of abuse of power and criminal negligence, respectively. Yingluck’s government was toppled in a coup in 2014, and Thailand’s Supreme Court recently acquitted her in absentia of one of many charges that led to her self-imposed exile from the country.
  Yingluck Shinawatra, former Prime Minister of Thailand, brother to Thaksin, and aunt to Paetongtarn
After 15 years of self-imposed exile, her brother Thaksin returned to Thailand. Upon his arrival at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport, he was arrested by the authorities, charged, and convicted, for which he was subsequently sentenced to eight years. The sentence was later reduced to one year by Thailand’s King Vajiralongkorn. After six months in the hospital, Thaksin was paroled due to his age.
    Thaksin Shinawatra, former Prime Minister of Thailand, and Father of Paetongtarn Shinawatra
After the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries where absolute monarchies are the contemporaries of Western democracies, Thailand’s king is next. Vajiralongkorn is the god of Thailand. His powers are unlimited, and his word is final. Thai genuflect or stand up in salute at his portraits or the slightest mention of him—he can do no wrong.
In 2021, a woman was jailed for 43 years under Thailand’s lese-majeste law for essentially insulting or defaming the monarch. The woman posted an audio on Facebook and YouTube. Thai’s lese-majeste law, also known as Article 112, guarantees jail time between three and fifteen years.
Will 37-year-old Paetongtarn Shinawatra face the same as her father and aunt? She is married and has two children, a boy and a girl. One might wonder why she chose to follow in her family’s footsteps, given how brutal it ended for them. Politics in Thailand is a dangerous game—a parliamentary democracy with absolute monarchical power. The country is known for short-lived prime ministers. In the last five years, there have been four prime ministers.
By Ikechukwu ORJI
