BANGKOK: One of Thailand\u2019s largest political parties, founded by ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra, elected a new leader on Friday, the party said, following the resignation of his daughter, the former prime minister.<\/p>\n
Paetongtarn Shinawatra, 39, stepped down as Pheu Thai party chief last week after a court removed her as prime minister in August over an ethics breach linked to a border dispute with Cambodia.<\/p>\n
Analysts say her departure was a strategic move to shield Pheu Thai from potential legal challenges and could mark the end of the Shinawatra family\u2019s decades-long dominance in Thai politics.<\/p>\n
Pheu Thai members elected Julapun Amornvivat, a former deputy finance minister, as their new leader, according to a livestream on the party\u2019s official Facebook page.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel honored to receive this privilege and thank all party members for their confidence,\u201d the MP from northern Chiang Mai province, a Pheu Thai stronghold, told reporters after the vote.<\/p>\n
Julapun, 50, is the son of veteran politician Sompong Amornvivat, who served as deputy prime minister and led Pheu Thai in 2019.<\/p>\n
He was among those promoting the party\u2019s flagship campaign policies ahead of the 2023 election, including a proposed 10,000-baht ($300) stimulus handout and the legalization of casinos.<\/p>\n
However, observers say that whoever leads Pheu Thai will remain under the influence of party patriarch Thaksin and his political dynasty.<\/p>\n
The Shinawatra clan has been the key foe of Thailand\u2019s pro-military, pro-royalty elite, who view their populist brand of politics as a threat to the traditional social order, for two decades.<\/p>\n
Thaksin, who founded the first iteration of Pheu Thai in the late 1990s, was ousted as prime minister in a 2006 coup and then went into exile for more than a decade.<\/p>\n
The 76-year-old is currently serving a prison sentence for corruption during his time in office.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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