In a candid admission, former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has acknowledged that his sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, will not be able to return to Thailand in time for this year’s Songkran festival, despite his earlier hopes.

Yingluck Shinawatra’s return has to be soon, but things can get complicated

After returning to Thailand in August 2023 following 17 years of self-exile, Thaksin had publicly expressed his intention to bring Yingluck back for Songkran 2025, aiming for a family reunion during the traditional Thai New Year celebrations (April 13-15).

However, on Sunday, March 23, 2025, Thaksin conceded that the timing was not yet right for her return.

“A wish and the reality sometimes are not the same,” he told reporters, without elaborating on the specific obstacles preventing Yingluck’s homecoming. “When the time is right, she will return.”, he said.

Thaksin Shinawatra has acknowledged the reality that he cannot bring his sister Yingluck back home for the Songkran festival this year as he had earlier foreshadowed.

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— Bangkok Post (@BangkokPostNews) March 24, 2025

Yingluck, Thailand’s first female prime minister (2011–2014), fled the country in 2017 just before the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions sentenced her in absentia to five years in prison. The charges stemmed from her government’s controversial rice-pledging scheme, which the court ruled had enabled corruption.

Since then, Yingluck has primarily lived in London, occasionally appearing in public abroad but avoiding any steps toward returning to Thailand, where she remains a polarizing figure.

Thaksin’s vague assurance—“When the time is right”—suggests behind-the-scenes negotiations may still be underway. However, with Thailand’s political landscape remaining volatile, Yingluck’s return seems unlikely without significant legal or political concessions.

Legal expert says Yingluck Shinawatra can’t avoid prosecution

The Shinawatras’ saga continues to reflect Thailand’s deep political divisions. While Thaksin has reintegrated into Thai society, Yingluck’s exile persists, underscoring the lingering tensions between the family and the establishment.

-Thailand News (TN)