Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra Postpones His Return to Thailand Indefinitely

National —

Former Prime Minister of Thailand Thaksin Shinawatra has postponed his return home in July indefinitely, according to his daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra.

Paetongtarn, who is a premier candidate for the Pheu Thai Party, recently revealed that she talked with her father on the night of July 11th and was told that Thaksin would not return home in July as he had announced.

The former premier is living in self-imposed exile in Dubai to avoid facing legal or political repercussions in his home country. However, he announced multiple times over the past months that he would make a comeback soon, claiming it wasn’t political but that he only wanted to see his grandchildren.

Thaksin’s latest comeback promise was in May 2023, when he announced that he wanted to return before his birthday on the 26th of July, 2023. He once again stated it has nothing to do with politics and that he merely wanted to care for his grandchildren.

Thaksin has been apart from his family for nearly 17 years when he fled Thailand to avoid various legal charges relating to his time as Prime Minister. Thaksin was a polarizing figure with nearly as much support as opposition to his policies and values. Even long after his departure he continues to influence Thai politics today due to his mere presence, despite his continual statements that he has nothing to do with politics anymore.

Although she did not give the exact date of the comeback, Paetongtarn affirmed that her father still wanted to come back and that the timing of the return would not deviate significantly from what he had previously stated.

Paetongtarn emphasized yet again that the return is unrelated to politics.

However, with Move Forward Party candidate Pita Limjaroenrat failing to get enough votes to become PM yesterday, as we reported here, she becomes a top potential candidate to take the role of PM herself.