Thaksin’s daughter takes Shinawatra brand to new Thailand generation

Thaksin’s daughter takes Shinawatra brand to new Thailand generation

BANGKOK: She has half a million followers on Instagram, leads a glamorous lifestyle and describes herself as the “little girl” of former premier Thaksin Shinawatra-one of the most influential and controversial figures in modern Thai history. The 35-year-old Paetongtarn Shinawatra, youngest of billionaire tycoon Thaksin’s three children, is now launching herself into the country’s deeply divided political scene ahead of a national election due by March 2023.

The move brings the Shinawatras’ influence to a new generation and sets the stage for the latest round in the ultra-rich clan’s 20-year tussle with the kingdom’s royalist-military elites. For now, Paetongtarn has a low-key role with the main opposition Pheu Thai party but she is widely tipped to be named its candidate for prime minister when an election is called.

The 72-year-old Thaksin, ousted as PM in a military coup in 2006, pops up regularly in Paetongtarn’s social media posts hugging her baby or posing with his daughter over a bowl of noodles. Paetongtarn says she draws strength from her father’s “unwavering support” and insists she will always be his “little girl”.

It is a sentiment that endears her to the legion of supporters, many of them poor and rural, who swept Thaksin to election