By Thai Newsroom Reporters
FORMER PRIME MINISTER Thaksin Shinawatra said last night (Mar.29) his youngest daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra has not as yet made up her mind whether she will run for head of a post-election government.
During a Care Talk/Care Clubhouse live streaming, Thaksin aka Tony Woodsome, said Paetongtarn is completely free to decide for herself if she will run as a candidate of Pheu Thai Party for prime minister in the next general election.
Though Paetongtarn had taken the novel role of steering the opposition party’s innovation and public participation campaign and was named “head of Pheu Thai Family”, she recently said she will not tell whether to run for prime minister until the House of Representatives has been dissolved and a general election for MPs called.
Nevertheless, Thaksin categorically denied that “Pheu Thai Family” could practically mean “Shinawatra Family,” saying such comments would be indiscriminately made by his critics.
Thaksin remarked that “Pheu Thai Family” is a very good choice of words to refer to all the partisan members, supporters and other people assisting and taking care of one another as family.
Thaksin is virtually regarded by some people as spiritual leader of Pheu Thai MPs as well as staunch supporters and viewed by others as “de facto” leader of the party, which he founded over two decades ago, thus rendering opposition leader Chonlanan Srikaew merely acting as a “nominal” one.
Chonlanan was randomly taken to task for literally bowing to a relatively junior Paetongtarn who was about to deliver a keynote speech during a partisan seminar in Udon Thani where she was unanimously named “head of Pheu Thai Family.”
Such a gesture of the “nominal” party leader who had been earlier speculated as Pheu Thai candidate for prime minister was allegedly tantamount to an act of submission to the “de facto” leader’s heiress.
Meanwhile, Thaksin said his youngest daughter will not fear any consequences if she ever jumps into the political arena, finally becomes prime minister and possibly ends up being deposed in a coup as had been the case of her own father and her aunt, ex-premier Yingluck Shinawatra, whose elected governments were ousted by power-seizing military juntas in 2006 and 2014 respectively.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha was evidently held responsible as army chief who orchestrated the latest coup to depose Yingluck.
“In that case (of a coup) she’ll have nothing to be afraid of. I have private jets and houses in other countries,” Thaksin said of his daughter who could possibly manage to escape a post-coup arrest.
The former premier called on the people nationwide to rise up against any future coups, given the previous ones which he said should already teach them lessons in the loss of democratic rule.
Thaksin who has been taking self-exile in Dubai alongside his sister, Yingluck, has earlier vowed to return home sooner or later within this year.
He has repeatedly cheered up the rank and file of Pheu Thai Party contesting the next race to parliament in which he has predicted a “landslide” victory for them.
CAPTIONS:
Top: Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra with his youngest daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra. Photo: Prachachat.net
Home Page: Paetongtarn Shinawatra. Photo: Sanook.com
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