In pics: Former prime minister’s daughter takes Shinawatra brand to influence new Thai generation
Influencing the new generation
The move brings the Shinawatras' influence to a new generation and sets the stage for the latest round in the ultra-rich clan's 20-year tussle with the kingdom's royalist-military elites.
She has half a million followers on Instagram, leads a glamorous lifestyle and describes herself as the "little girl" of former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, one of the most influential and controversial figures in modern Thai history.
Well-wishers show their support
It is a sentiment that endears her to the legion of supporters, many of them poor and rural, who swept Thaksin to election victories in 2001 and 2005.
"We need you. We miss your father," a well-wisher told her during campaigning for Bangkok local elections last month.
Parties linked to the tycoon have won the most seats at every Thai election since 2001, only to find themselves toppled by coups or court rulings preceded by massive street protests.
Proud daughter
Despite her current placeholder role with Pheu Thai's inclusion and innovation committee, Paetongtarn makes no secret of her ambitions.
Thaksin's five years in power saw an economic upturn and a boost for the rural poor, but critics say the period was marked by graft, nepotism and authoritarianism.
Paetongtarn insists Thailand improved under his rule, and says that like her father, she feeds off adversity.
"How could I not be proud of my dad after all he has done for our country?" she says.
"Thanks to him, not only am I not afraid of criticism, but I see it as an opportunity for improvement."
Major obstacles
Victory for Paetongtarn might also mean a way back to Thailand for the 72-year-old Thaksin. Last year he vowed to return to the kingdom "through the front door".
But despite the power of the Shinawatra brand, Pheu Thai and Paetongtarn face formidable hurdles to winning power.
Senate fully handpicked by military
To become prime minister a candidate must win a majority in the 500-seat lower house and the 250-seat senate.
But under the constitution drafted by the junta in 2017, the senate is full of handpicked military loyalists.
A similar scenario unfolded in the 2019 election -- Pheu Thai won most seats in the lower house but the military-controlled senate allowed Prayut to form a coalition.
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