Thailand's Paetongtarn Shinawatra is sworn in as Prime Minister.

Thailand's Paetongtarn Shinawatra is sworn in as Prime Minister.

Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the daughter of polarizing former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, was sworn in as Thailand's next prime minister yesterday, just two days after being elected by the Thai parliament. During a ceremony in Bangkok, House of Representatives Secretary Apat Sukhanand read out King Vajiralongkorn's largely formal approval of her as the country's new premier.

At a subsequent press conference, Paetongtarn promised to "serve everyone equally and wholeheartedly," as well as to rule for "every age, gender, and diversity."

"I am committed to pushing forward key policies, from economic reforms and the 30-baht health care improvements to enhancing digital infrastructure and promoting Thailand's soft power on the global stage," she told the crowd. "Together, let's turn any challenges into opportunities, making Thailand a place where everyone can dream, create, and shape their future."

Paetongtarn, the head of the Pheu Thai party, received a significant majority of votes in the House of Representatives on Friday.

At 37 years old (she turns 38 on Wednesday), she is the country's youngest leader and the third member of the Shinawatra clan to hold the position of prime minister, following her father Thaksin (2001-2006) and aunt Yingluck (2011-2014).

Paetongtarn's unexpected rise came when Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, a former Pheu Thai real estate billionaire who gained office following last year's general election, was unseated by the Constitutional Court on August 14, less than a year later. The court voted 5-4 to remove Srettha from office for a "ethical violation" involving the appointment to his cabinet of an official who had previously received a jail sentence for bribing a judicial officer.

 The decision comes a week after the Constitutional Court ordered the dissolution of the Move Forward Party, a progressive party that won a plurality of votes in last year's general election and held the majority of seats in the Thai House of Representatives. Taken together, the two decisions were a noteworthy example of judicial invigilation, limiting the results available within Thailand's purportedly democratic political system.

According to her recent comments, Paetongtarn intends to pursue the economic agenda of the short-lived Srettha administration. The only question mark is the fate of Srettha's 450 billion baht ($12.5 billion) "digital wallet" stimulus scheme. Over the last few days, there have been allegations that Thaksin, the key powerbroker behind the Pheu Thai façade, has advised against the costly scheme, which will see about 45 million Thai citizens receive payouts of 10,000 baht ($277).

Paetongtarn has denied that she intends to abandon the stimulus, claiming that her father instructed her to seek further viewpoints on the contentious project. "The digital wallet scheme is a project we intend to use as a major economic stimulus," Paetongtarn stated during yesterday's news briefing. She also stated that her father had no control over her government, but because he "is a person respected by many, I may seek his advice depending on his expertise."

This speaks to the basic difficulty of Thailand's new prime minister: dispelling the myth that she is merely a front for a third Thaksin Shinawatra administration. This is not an unreasonable assumption: Paetongtarn, like Srettha, is primarily a political novice, having spent the majority of her career managing the Shinawatra family's hotel business.

The perception that Thaksin is pulling the strings is likely to enrage "yellow" royalists who spent so many years opposing the Shinawatras, while Thaksin's pact with the Thai conservative establishment has alienated many former supporters and strengthened the ranks of the People's Party, the most recent iteration of the Move Forward party.

If Paetongtarn's ancestry was a clear factor in her spectacular rise to the slippery top of Thai politics, it is now a potential problem.