Thai Prime Minister denies Thaksin ‘controls authorities’

Thailand’s new Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has denied rumors that her father, former chief Thaksin Shinawatra, is controlling the federal government.

New Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and his father, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra (Picture: Reuters).

Ms. Paetongtarn, who was elected prime minister this month, made the announcement on August 23.

Her transfer got here as Mr. Thaksin attended an occasion known as “Imaginative and prescient for Thailand 2024” on August 22, attended by politicians, diplomats and buyers. In the course of the occasion, Mr. Thaksin, a former Thai prime minister, made suggestions that he stated may assist the Southeast Asian nation’s financial system.

Requested whether or not Mr Thaksin’s proposals on the occasion represented the brand new authorities’s insurance policies, Ms Paetongtarn denied this, saying Mr Thaksin didn’t maintain any authorities positions.

“He doesn’t declare authorities coverage. He solely expresses his imaginative and prescient. What he says is partly drawn from Pheu Thai’s coverage,” Paetongtarn stated.

Requested to touch upon rumours that Mr Thaksin could be controlling her and the brand new authorities, Ms Paetongtarn stated: “I insist that my father is just not making an attempt to manage me. I can suppose for myself.”

Ms Paetongtarn additionally stated the financial system wanted stimulus measures and Mr Thaksin’s expertise in dealing with financial issues would profit the nation.

She added that the brand new authorities’s coverage can be made clear when she formally introduced it to parliament.

Concerning the Pheu Thai Occasion’s money handout coverage, Ms Paetongtarn stated this system is prone to go forward. Initially, the cash might be distributed in money to susceptible individuals via welfare playing cards.

This system, which goals to offer 10,000 baht (about $295) by way of e-wallets to about 50 million eligible Thais, is stalled after the Constitutional Courtroom eliminated Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin from workplace.