The Thai ruling party’s flagship 500bn baht ($14.5bn) handout plan is needed to boost a sluggish economy, political heavyweight Thaksin Shinawatra (pictured) said yesterday, days after his daughter was elected prime minister by parliament.
Although he has no formal role in the government, Thaksin is one of the most influential figures in Thai politics and is widely expected to shape the premiership of his 38-year-old daughter, Paetongtarn Shinawatra.
The populist Pheu Thai party leader was elected last Friday, replacing Srettha Thavisin, who was dismissed by a court order.
“We need to stimulate the economy as our country has grown slowly for a long time,” Thaksin said at an event in the capital Bangkok, outlining the benefits of the handout scheme that was a key campaign promise for his party in last year’s election.
The “digital wallet” handout scheme, which would see about 50mn Thais receive 10,000 baht of credit via a smartphone application to spend locally within six months, was planned to be rolled out in the fourth quarter under Srettha.
Srettha’s exit, however, had raised some doubts about whether it would still go ahead.
Thaksin’s remarks yesterday indicated that Paetongtarn would likely continue with the plan, which has come under criticism from economic experts and Thailand’s central bank.
A former prime minister who spent 15 years in self-imposed exile before making a dramatic return to Thailand last year, Thaksin said that his daughter’s government would be able to deal with the challenges stifling economic growth.
The government is considering using 145bn baht from the 2024 fiscal budget to provide handouts to 14.5mn people in September, with additional disbursements starting from October, he said.
“It will be an immediate economic boost in September,” he said.
– Reuters
