Thai PM grilled in censure motion over father Thaksin's influence 

By Panarat Thepgumpanat, Chayut Setboonsarng

BANGKOK (Reuters) -Thailand's opposition on Monday grilled Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra on the first day of a parliamentary no-confidence motion, accusing her of being unqualified and of allowing her powerful father to wield influence over her administration. 

The opposition People's Party said Paetongtarn was taking direction from her father, divisive political heavyweight Thaksin Shinawatra, a billionaire former premier who is banned from holding office over a conviction for conflicts of interest and abuse of power that kept him in self-exile for 15 years. 

"We have a leader outside of the system... directing government policies without any accountability," People's Party leader Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut told parliament. 

"Thailand is at a double loss: one person works without accountability, another who holds state power lacks qualifications," he said.

Despite lukewarm ratings in opinion polls, Paetongtarn enters the two-day debate in a firm position, with no signs of turmoil in a ruling coalition that commands a parliamentary majority, making it unlikely the motion will prosper when it goes to a vote on Wednesday.    

Paetongtarn, 38, the fourth member of the Shinawatra family to hold the top post, did not respond to Natthaphong's allegations. She previously insisted her government is not under anyone's influence, while Thaksin, 75, has said he is retired and only offers advice. 

Thaksin, Thailand's most influential and polarising politician, has loomed large over Thai politics for the past 24 years. He returned home in 2023 and spent six months in detention in hospital under a government led by the Pheu Thai Party he founded, before being released on parole.

He has spoken openly and frequently about policies that include legalising gambling and adopting cryptocurrency and championed a $14 billion handout scheme to stimulate the economy, all of which the Pheu Thai-led government has pursued. 

'NOT TRUE'

Prawit Wongsuwon, a lawmaker and influential former general who was involved in a 2014 coup against another Shinawatra-led government, accused Paetongtarn of failures over the economy and national security and of concealing wealth and running the country to benefit her wealthy family. 

She offered only a brief rebuttal during the early proceedings. 

"I have listened to you for 10 minutes," Paetongtarn told Prawit. "The things that the senior member said are not true."  

The government's economic measures so far have yet to spur significant growth in Southeast Asia's second-largest economy, with last year's 2.5% expansion far adrift of regional peers. 

The anchors to growth including structural issues and household debt of 16.34 trillion baht ($486 billion), or 89.0% of gross domestic product, among the highest ratios in Asia, which the opposition says the government is not addressing.

Yuttaporn Issarachai, a political scientist at Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University, said the censure motion was unlikely to weaken the government.  

"The opposition's tactic to delegitimise Paetongtarn's leadership is not new because she already faces criticism from society," Yuttaporn said. "The focus on Thaksin's role and interference makes it too political and not beneficial to public." 

Paetongtarn became Thailand's youngest premier in August after political ally Srettha Thavisin was removed by a court over an ethics violation.  

(Reporting by Chayut Setboonsarng, Panarat Thepgumpanat and Panu Wongcha-um; Editing by Martin Petty)