Thailand's parliament elected Yingluck Shinawatra as prime minister in a televised vote Aug. 4. Though Yingluck's Pheu Thai party won a majority in the election, the risk of domestic instability will shape the government's formation and early policies. Her most difficult task will be appointing ministers, as she will need to balance the interests of the royalists, the military and the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (aka the Red Shirts), the activist group that backed her campaign against the Democrat Party, backed by the People's Alliance for Democracy (aka the Yellow Shirts). If the government has to concede to Red Shirt pressure, it could be apparent in how many — and which — of the group's leaders are named to the Cabinet. At the same time, the winning Pheu Thai party also needs to ensure coalition partners receive the seats they want. The new prime minister also is likely to have to deal with amnesty for her exiled brother, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra; an inquiry into the crackdown on Red Shirt protests in April 2010; and the Thai-Cambodian border dispute.
