The Latest Breaking News from Paetongtarn Shinawatra

The daughter of Thailand's ex-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 military coup and lives in self-imposed exile, has emerged as a leading candidate for premier in a preliminary opinion poll ahead of elections due next year.

Paetongtarn "Ung Ing" Shinawatra of the Pheu Thai Party is still the most popular choice for prime minister, according to a poll - although the largest percentage of people selected the answer choice 'none'.

Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the youngest daughter of fugitive ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra, is emerging as the leading candidate for the premiership to breathe new life into the Pheu Thai Party, according to recent polls by the National Institute of Development Administration (Nida).

Leading opposition party Pheu Thai has promised not to sit on its laurels after an opinion poll showed Paetongtarn "Ung Ing" Shinawatra was the people’s choice for prime minister by a considerable margin.

Pheu Thai securing a landslide victory after an eight-year break from power will be an uphill battle but the party has the public's confidence it can turn the tide in politics, says Nattawut Saikuar, director of the Pheu Thai Family project.

The Pheu Thai Party has welcomed former red-shirt stalwart Nattawut Saikuar back to the fold, hoping his oratorical skills will help win support in the Northeast that has been tapped by the Bhumjaithai Party, political scientists say.

Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the youngest daughter of former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, on Saturday led the Pheu Thai Party on a tour of Si Sa Ket province where it appeared to target the coalition Bhumjaithai Party.

Former red-shirt leader Nattawut Saikuar has been appointed as director of the Pheu Thai Family project.

Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Pheu Thai Party's chief of the Inclusion and Innovation Adviser Committees, has contracted Covid-19 after visiting her father, former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, in Singapore on Saturday.