BANGKOK: Former premier Thaksin Shinawatra (pic) announced in a video clip that his daughter, Paetongtarn, would be a good leader of the ruling Pheu Thai Party because she has “inherited” his DNA.
He made this remark in an 18-minute video clip played before Pheu Thai’s annual general meeting kicked off on Friday (April 5).
“She [Paetongtarn] is a combination of my and [ex-wife] Khunying Potjaman's DNA. She has got the strength, patience and quick decision-making abilities from her mother and an outgoing behaviour and ease in dealing with and understanding politics from me,” Thaksin said in the clip.
“I believe she will be a good leader. I’m not boasting, but since I could do it, so can my DNA.”
Thaksin established the Thai Rak Thai Party in 1998 and won by a landslide in 2001 and again by an overwhelming majority in 2005.
However, his government was ousted in a military coup in 2006 and Thai Rak Thai dissolved in 2007 for alleged violation of election laws.
Members of Thai Rak Thai later formed the People’s Power Party, which was dissolved in 2008, and eventually, non-executive members regrouped as Pheu Thai.
As for critics labelling Pheu Thai a “neoconservative” party after it formed a coalition with military-sponsored parties post-2023 elections, Thaksin said Pheu Thai was a reformist party that had taken a leading position in creating changes. He pointed out that while he was in power, his party had come up with many progressive policies like a universal healthcare scheme and decentralisation of power.
Similarly, he said, the current administration’s digital wallet scheme was a “breath of fresh air” for Thailand at a time of financial fluctuations.
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin had said earlier that he should have more details of the digital wallet scheme when the related committee meets on April 10. There has been talk of all eligible Thais getting the 10,000 baht handout within the fourth quarter of this year.
“Capitalism without empathy cannot make people happy,” Thaksin said, adding that he is confident Srettha will be able to lead the country to prosperity as proven by his successful years as a businessman. - The Nation/ANN
