BANGKOK
\nThailand\u2019s parliament elected political neophyte Paetongtarn Shinawatra as its youngest prime minister on Friday, only a day after she was thrust into the spotlight amid an unrelenting power struggle between the country\u2019s warring elites.
\nThe 37-year-old daughter of divisive political heavyweight Thaksin Shina\u00adwatra sailed through a house vote and now faces a baptism of fire, just two days after ally Srettha Thavisin was dismissed as premier by a judiciary central to Thailand\u2019s two decades of intermittent turmoil.
\nAt stake for Paetongtarn could be the legacy and political future of the billionaire Shinawatra family, whose once unstoppable populist juggernaut suffered its first election defeat in over two decades last year, and had to do a deal with its bitter enemies in the military to form a government.
\nShe will become Thailand\u2019s second female prime minister and the third Shinawatra to take the top job after aunt Yingluck Shinawatra, and father Thaksin, the country\u2019s most influential and polarising politician. In her first media comments as prime minister-elect, Paetongtarn said she had been saddened and confused by Srettha\u2019s dismissal and decided it was time to step up.
\n\u201cI talked to Srettha, my family and people in my party and decided it was about time to do something for the country and the party,\u201d she told reporters.
\n\u201cI hope I can do my best to make the country go forward. That\u2019s what I\u2019m trying to do. Today I\u2019m honoured and I feel very happy.\u201d Paetongtarn won easily with 319 votes, or nearly two-thirds of the house.
\nHer response after winning was posting on Instagram a picture of her lunch \u2014 chicken rice \u2014 with the caption: \u201cThe first meal after listening to the vote.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BANGKOK Thailand\u2019s parliament elected political neophyte Paetongtarn Shinawatra as its youngest prime minister on Friday, only a day after she was thrust into the spotlight amid an unrelenting power struggle between the country\u2019s warring elites. The 37-year-old daughter of divisive political heavyweight Thaksin Shina\u00adwatra sailed through a house vote and now faces a baptism of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":425582,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-425552","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n