The Puea Thai Party has taken a Bold Leap to Nominate Yingluck Shinawatra

Is Thailand Heading into a New Age, could Thailand’s people actually Elect a Woman to the Highest Seat in The Country. Yingluck Shinawatra, youngest sister of Thaksin Shinawatra, unanimously won the opposition Puea Thai Party nomination as top party-listed candidate vying for the country’s top job!

The Puea Thai Party has taken a bold leap to nominate Yingluck Shinawatra as the front runner against the present Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. This too should please United Nations Secretary-General Ban who believes more women leaders are need throughout the world

“Certainly there has been important progress. More women in more countries are taking their places in parliament. Yet fewer than 10 per cent of the countries, 10 per cent of the countries have a female head of state or government. Fewer than 30 countries have reached the target of 30 per cent women in national parliaments.”

Although inexperienced in politics, Ms Yingluck, who earned a Master’s degree in public administration in the United States now serves as executive president of SC Asset Corporation, one of Thailand’s major real estate companies, is pitted as the most suitable candidate against 46 year-old, Oxford-educated Abhisit.

In her brief speech to the party meeting after winning the nomination, the 43-year-old businesswoman said she stood ready to board the political bandwagon as she is confident that the party’s platform could answer all the people’s needs.

She pledged to work towards national reconciliation and to work for the people’s well-being.

“I want to see constructive politics based on fairness. I would like to assure (the public) that I will apply my knowledge and my goodwill to work towards that goal, towards a new government….I would like you to give me an opportunity to work with Puea Thai party as you have trusted my brother,”  Ms Yingluck said.

 

Andrew Walker, an expert on Thai politics at the Australia National University, said she could prove to be instrumental in uniting a party in disarray by attracting the rural poor who were wooed by Thaksin’s populist policies.

“It’s a bold move, but given the power of the Shinawatra brand in Thai politics, it’s a pretty good move,” he said.

“It’s a risk, but Puea Thai see that it’s outweighed by Thaksin’s galvanising appeal and the affection that exists among the electorate for him and his policies. What the Democrats and their allies most fear is an electoral runoff with Thaksin.”

Chiangrai Times 2011