Paetongtarn Shinawatra Elected as Thai PM

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The Facts

  • On Friday, Thailand's parliament elected Paetongtarn Shinawatra as its new prime minister after a court Wednesday ousted her predecessor, Srettha Thavisin, who was found guilty of ethics violations.

  • The 37-year-old Shinawatra helms the Pheu Thai party and is the country's second female prime minister and the youngest to be elected. Shinawatra comes from a political lineage that includes two other prime ministers, her father, Thaksin, and her aunt, Yingluck.

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The Spin

Left narrative

This is pure nepotism, and Pheu Thai is nothing but a mouthpiece for Thaksin. The royalist courts dissolved the country's popular progressive opposition before parliament appointed an inexperienced figurehead to helm the nation in an arrangement that was surely forged in a smoke-filled room. The establishment cannot ignore the voice of Thai voters forever.

Washington Post

Right narrative

In a country hungry for change, Pheu Thai has struck a middle path between the status quo and the radically progressive agenda of groups such as Move Forward. The fact that there was consensus around a member of the Shinawatra family, which has never had a good relationship with the establishment, points to the potential of prudent government and compromise, and will hopefully bring stability to Thailand.

The Rio Times

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