Paetongtarn, who never held a government position, is now the third billionaire member of her family to become Prime Minister of Southeast Asia.

Paetongtarn Shinawatra, a political novice who had only been in the spotlight for a few days due to a power struggle between rival elites, won Friday the support of the parliament and became Thailand’s youngest Prime Minister.

The 37-year old daughter of political heavyweight Thaksin, who has caused a lot of division in Thailand for the past two decades, passed the threshold of 51% votes. She now faces a baptism by fire just two days after an ally Srettha Thavisin’s dismissal as premier.

Paetongtarn’s legacy and the political future of billionaire Shinawatra could be at stake. Their once unstoppable populist force suffered its first defeat in more than two decades in last year’s election, and was forced to make a deal to form a new government with their bitter enemies, the military.

Paetongtarn faces challenges in multiple areas, as the economy is struggling and her Pheu Thai Party’s popularity is dwindling. The party has yet to implement its flagship cash-handout program of 500 billion baht (14.25 billion dollars).

Paetongtarn, who has never held a government position, will be Thailand’s second woman prime minister, and the third Shinawatra in history to hold the top post after her aunt Yingluck Shinawatra and father Thaksin (75), the most influential and polarizing political figure of the country.

Srettha’s fall after less than one year in office is a stark reminder to Paetongtarn of the hostility he could face. Thailand has been caught in a turbulent cycle of coups, court rulings, and dissolution of political parties that have led to multiple prime ministers and governments being overthrown.

The Shinawatras have been the hardest hit by the crisis. It pits mass-appealing parties against a powerful alliance of conservatives, wealthy families, and royalists generals who are deeply connected to key institutions.

Nine days earlier, the court that fired Srettha for a cabinet nomination also disbanded the anti-establishment Move Forward Party – the winner of the 2023 elections – over a campaign against a law prohibiting insulting the Crown, which the court said could undermine the constitutional monarchy. Since then, it has formed a new party.

The turmoil in the last few days is also indicative of a breakdown in the fragile truce that was struck between Thaksin, his rivals from the military and establishment in 2023. This had allowed the tycoon to return after 15 years in self-exile and for Srettha’s ally to be appointed premier on the same day.

Many analysts were surprised by Thaksin’s decision to place Paetongtarn into play at this critical time. They had expected him to delay the dynasty to avoid exposing Paetongtarn the same type of battles which led to his downfall and that of his sister Yingluck who fled to other countries to avoid prison after their governments have been overthrown by the military.