Editorial
Thailand's new leader
Pragmatism is what she needs now
Thailand enters a new and pretty uncertain era under Yingluck Shinawatra. It is not just that she is the country's first woman prime minister but also that she takes office with so many expectations of her from her supporters. A particular reason why Ms. Yingluck's rise to power is remarkable is that she does not have a history of active politics behind her and that she takes centre stage only five years after her populist sibling Thaksin Shinawatra was overthrown by the military. In a country where 18 coups and attempted coups have undermined democracy since 1932, the new prime minister cannot but tread carefully.
Yingluck Shinawatra can take comfort from the strong majority she and her allies command in parliament, a total of 296 seats out of a potential 500. She has already demonstrated good political acumen by going for a six-party coalition, a sign of the pragmatism she means to bring into administration. Young (she is only 44), attractive and charismatic, Thailand's new leader could well become a role model for people in her country as also around the world. For the immediate future, though, she will need to devise the means by which she expects to fulfil her campaign promises, two of which are her pledge towards a minimum wage hike for working Thais and ensuring higher prices for products grown by farmers. One reason behind her victory was the nostalgia in which poor, rural Thais hold Thaksin, whose government vastly improved social conditions for the country's impoverished and disadvantaged. It is that image she must live up to if she means to succeed in office.
And yet the new leader must remain wary of the vested interests which combined to oust her brother in September 2006. They remain organised and, after her triumph, perhaps introspective as well. Yingluck Shinawatra thus needs luck and sagacity to reach out to all segments of Thailand's population.
We welcome her to the select group of women heads of government.
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