BANGKOK, March 23: Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra on Monday faced a no-confidence motion in parliament as the opposition alleged she was being unduly influenced by her father, a former prime minister, and is mismanaging the country.
Paetongtarn, who took office last year, is expected to survive her first no-confidence vote on Wednesday with the backing of her ruling coalition that makes up the majority of the House of Representatives.
The head of the opposition in parliament, Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut, said Paetongtarn had failed to address many of the country’s chronic problems including the slumping economy, air pollution, crimes and corruption.
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He said her administration was serving the interests of her family and her father, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, a popular but highly controversial political figure.
Paetongtarn heads the Pheu Thai Party, the latest in a string of populist parties affiliated with Thaksin, who was ousted in a 2006 military coup, fled into exile and recently returned to Thailand.
Thaksin has been at the heart of nearly two decades of deep political divisions pitting a mostly poor, rural majority that supported him against royalists, the military and their urban backers, who accuse him of threatening their status and that of the revered monarchy.
Natthapong is the leader of the People’s Party, a resurrection of the progressive, reformist Move Forward Party, which took the most seats in the general election in 2023 but failed to take power due to strong opposition from the conservative establishment, and was ordered dissolved.
Natthapong said the formation of the ruling coalition, which saw Pheu Thai partner with its former conservative rivals, was part of the political bargain to bring Thaksin home.
Paetongtarn was also accused by Prawit Wongsuwan, head of the Palang Pracharath Party, Pheu Thai’s former coalition partner, of falsely declaring her assets, which she denied. (AP)
