Thaksin planning to return by July, the ex PM announces on Twitter
Exiled former premier Thaksin Shinawatra announced on Twitter on Tuesday that he would be returning to Thailand before his birthday on July 26, after nearly 17 years of being away from his family.
The announcement has turned up the heat in Thai politics in the week leading to the general election this Sunday. According to most polls, Thaksin’s youngest daughter Paetongtarn is on track to become the next PM as her Pheu Thai Party expects to win a landslide, enabling it to form a majority government.
“I decided I would come home to be with my [latest] grandson this July, before my birthday. It’s now almost 17 years that I have been away from my family. I’m getting old too,” said Thaksin, who fled the country during the 2006 military-led coup, escaping trials for corruption and tax evasion, among others.
On May 1, just hours after Paetongtarn delivered her second child, Thaksin tweeted: “As I will turn 74 this July, I want to ask for permission to return to look after my grandchild. See you soon,” The boy has been named Prutthasin Sooksawas, nickname “Thasin”. He is Thaksin’s seventh grandchild.
