Thailand’s Parliament on Friday picked the 37-year-old heir of a powerful and polarizing dynasty to lead the country, two days after a court ousted the prime minister in the latest blow to Thai democracy.
The lawmakers’ choice of Paetongtarn Shinawatra, a daughter of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, as the new prime minister was the latest turn in a political crisis that has roiled Thailand.
Even on Thursday night, as it became clear that Ms. Paetongtarn was the governing coalition’s choice for the role, there were questions about how long she would last. She is not popular: A recent poll found that only 6 percent of voters backed her for prime minister, trailing Pita Limjaroenrat, the former leader of the now banned Move Forward Party, and Srettha Thavisin, the prime minister who was dismissed on Wednesday.
Ms. Paetongtarn’s ascent was the clearest statement yet that Mr. Thaksin, who was ousted from the prime minister’s job in a 2006 coup but has remained a powerful behind-the-scenes player, and his Pheu Thai Party would remain at the forefront of Thai politics.
But she faces numerous challenges, including an ailing economy and a topsy-turvy political era in which the military and its royalist allies have repeatedly disrupted Thailand’s democratic processes.
Ms. Paetongtarn’s decision to accept the nomination was surprising. People close to her had previously said she was reluctant to jump into the fray. A former deputy chief executive of a family-run hotel management company, Ms. Paetongtarn has a thin resume for someone seeking national leadership, having played only advisory roles in government.
She was a front-runner candidate for prime minister for the Pheu Thai Party during national elections last year. But the Move Forward party, led by Mr. Pita, won substantially more votes, and it joined with Pheu Thai to put forward a new government.
Those plans were derailed, however, when allies of the military and monarchy in Senate voted not to let Mr. Pita become prime minister. His party, which had called for changing a law that makes criticizing the monarchy a criminal offense, was banned by the Constitutional Court this month.
Mr. Srettha, who was eventually fielded by Pheu Thai as its candidate, became prime minister, but he held the office for less than a year before he was ousted by the Constitutional Court on Wednesday.
It was more stark evidence that Thailand’s politics are perilous and heavily manipulated — and few understand that as intimately as the Shinawatras.
The youngest of Mr. Thaksin’s children, Ms. Paetongtarn spent 17 years away from her father as he lived in self-exile, mostly in Dubai, to escape what he said were politically motivated charges against him.
Her aunt, Yingluck, Thailand’s first female prime minister, was ousted in a 2014 coup and was forced to flee the country. Her uncle-in-law, Somchai Wongsawat, was also removed as prime minister when the Constitutional Court ordered the dissolution of his People Power Party in 2008.
Mr. Thaksin returned to Thailand last year as part of a grand bargain that he had made with the conservative establishment to keep Move Forward out of power. Despite being sentenced to eight years in prison for corruption, he never had to serve a day in jail, a fact that still rankles his enemies and a wide swath of the Thai public.
In June, he was charged with insulting the monarchy. Analysts called that a sign that the establishment was losing patience with him.
