Thai PM Paetongtarn grilled in censure motion over father Thaksin’s influence
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Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has insisted that her government is not under anyone’s influence.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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BANGKOK – Thailand’s opposition on March 24 grilled Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra on the first day of a parliamentary no-confidence motion, accusing her of being unqualified and of allowing her powerful father to wield influence over her administration.
The opposition People’s Party said Ms Paetongtarn was taking direction from her father
“We have a leader outside of the system... directing government policies without any accountability,” People’s Party leader Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut told Parliament.
“Thailand is at a double loss: one person works without accountability, another who holds state power lacks qualifications,” he said.
Despite lukewarm ratings in opinion polls, Ms Paetongtarn enters the two-day debate in a firm position, with no signs of turmoil in a ruling coalition that commands a parliamentary majority, making it unlikely the motion will prosper when it goes to a vote on March 26.
Ms Paetongtarn, 38, the fourth member of the Shinawatra family to hold the top post, did not respond to Mr Natthaphong’s allegations. She previously insisted her government is not under anyone’s influence, while Mr Thaksin, 75, has said he is retired and only offers advice.
Mr Thaksin, Thailand’s most influential and polarising politician, has loomed large over Thai politics for the past 24 years.
He returned home in 2023 and spent six months in detention in hospital
He has spoken openly and frequently about policies that include legalising gambling and adopting cryptocurrency, and championed a US$14 billion (S$18.7 billion) handout scheme to stimulate the economy, all of which the Pheu Thai-led government has pursued.
‘Not true’
Mr Prawit Wongsuwon, a lawmaker and influential former general who was involved in a 2014 coup against another Shinawatra-led government, accused Ms Paetongtarn of failures over the economy and national security, and of concealing wealth and running the country to benefit her wealthy family.
She offered only a brief rebuttal during the early proceedings.
“I have listened to you for 10 minutes,” Ms Paetongtarn told Mr Prawit. “The things that the senior member said are not true.”
Mr Wiroj Lakkhanaadisorn, another lawmaker with the People’s Party, also accused the Prime Minister of evading taxes, alleging that Ms Paetongtarn had evaded paying 218.7 million baht (S$8.6 million) in gift taxes for shares of seven Shinawatra companies she received from various family members from 2016.
The declaration of 4.4 billion baht as debt in the Premier’s declared assets is structured as promissory notes payable at unspecified future dates to escape gift tax liability, Mr Wiroj said.
Ms Paetongtarn denied the allegation, saying the lawmaker was deliberately misleading the public, and she was planning to repay the debt from some time in 2026.
The government’s economic measures so far have yet to spur significant growth in South-east Asia’s second-largest economy, with 2024’s 2.5 per cent expansion far adrift of regional peers.
The obstacles to growth include structural issues and household debt of 16.34 trillion baht or 89 per cent of gross domestic product, among the highest ratios in Asia, which the opposition says the government is not addressing.
Dr Yuttaporn Issarachai, a political scientist at Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University, said the censure motion was unlikely to weaken the government.
“The opposition’s tactic to delegitimise Paetongtarn’s leadership is not new because she already faces criticism from society,” he said.
“The focus on Mr Thaksin’s role and interference makes it too political and not beneficial to public.”
Ms Paetongtarn became Thailand’s youngest premier in August after political ally Srettha Thavisin was removed by a court over an ethics violation. REUTERS, BLOOMBERG
