One of Thailand’s largest political parties, established by former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, selected a new leader on Friday after the resignation of his daughter, the ex-prime minister.
Paetongtarn Shinawatra, aged 39, resigned as head of the Pheu Thai party last week. Her departure followed a court decision in August that removed her from the prime minister position due to an ethics violation related to a border conflict with Cambodia.
Experts suggest her resignation was a strategic decision to protect Pheu Thai from possible legal issues and might signify the end of the Shinawatra family’s long-standing influence in Thai politics.
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Pheu Thai members elected Julapun Amornvivat, a former deputy finance minister, as their new leader, as announced through a livestream on the party’s official Facebook page.
“I am honored to receive this opportunity and extend my gratitude to all party members for their trust,” said the MP from northern Chiang Mai province, a Pheu Thai stronghold, following the vote.
Julapun, who is 50, is the son of veteran politician Sompong Amornvivat, who served as deputy prime minister and led Pheu Thai in 2019.
He was instrumental in promoting the party’s key campaign strategies ahead of the 2023 election, which included a proposed 10,000-baht ($300) stimulus package and the legalization of casinos.
Nonetheless, analysts note that any leader of Pheu Thai will continue to be influenced by party patriarch Thaksin and his political legacy.
The Shinawatra family has been a major adversary of Thailand’s pro-military, pro-royalty elite, who see their populist approach as a challenge to the traditional social order for the past two decades.
Thaksin, who founded the initial version of Pheu Thai in the late 1990s, was deposed as prime minister in a 2006 coup and subsequently lived in exile for over a decade.
The 76-year-old is currently serving a prison sentence for corruption committed during his tenure.
