Under Yingluck's rice subsidy programme, the government bought rice directly from farmers at a fixed rate that often was up to 50 per cent higher than global market prices. Much of Yingluck's popularity extended from her brother Thaksin, a telecommunications tycoon who became the only prime minister in Thailand's history to finish his term and be re-elected. Despite Yingluck's absence, analysts predict the popularity of the Shinawatra family and of Yingluck's Pheu Thai Party will endure. "I don't think her departure will affect [Pheu Thai Party] much. Yingluck, a political novice when she ran for prime minister in 2011, led Pheu Thai that year to a landslide victory.

Source: The China Post August 30, 2017 06:00 UTC