Thaksin sister prepares to lead Thailand after stunning win

Tuesday, 5 July 2011 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters - Thai opposition leader Yingluck Shinawatra, a political newcomer, prepared to lead her country after a stunning weekend election victory but huge challenges lie ahead, including how quickly to bring home her brother, exiled ex-premier Thaksin.

The Election Commission projected their Puea Thai party would win 264 of the 500 seats in parliament, a decisive win that appears to make it hard for Thaksin's die-hard opponents in the army and establishment to stop Yingluck taking power.

"Winning by a big margin would ease the problem of the military intervening and make it easier for them to form the government and implement all their policies," said Kongkiat Opaswongkarn, chief executive of broker Asia Plus Securities.

"We expect a jump when the stock market opens and this is because it is a big win, with less risk of having the military meddling with politics."

The baht rose more than 1 percent against the dollar on Monday, outperforming other Asian currencies.

Late on Sunday, Yingluck brushed aside concerns about the cost of the promises made during her election campaign, from tablet computers for schoolchildren to a big increase in the minimum wage, which critics say will damage the economy. "That's not true, we know what to do. We'll reduce costs for people and we know how to generate the income that we'll give back to them," she told Reuters. Newspapers concentrated on the photogenic 44-year-old businesswoman on Monday, momentarily leaving Thaksin to one side, although he was all over the television screens on Sunday, offering his congratulations from Dubai.