The press has given Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra the nickname "Paetongphoey" -- a reference to her dependence on prepared scripts at important occasions -- as part of the year-end tradition among Government House reporters to come up with monikers for senior government officials.
The nickname "Paetongphoey" is a mash-up between the first two syllables of the prime minister's name, and phoey -- the Thai word for "script".
When asked to comment on the name, Ms Paetongtarn insisted it didn't upset her, before adding good-naturedly that "Paetongpad" would have been more accurate, as she reads the scripts off her iPad (as her critics have noted).
Government House correspondents also dubbed Ms Paetongtarn's administration as "the dad-backed government", due to her father's -- former prime minister Thaksin -- prominent role in her government.
Meanwhile, they also viewed her remarks about her husband's southern origin, brought up when the South was hit by severe floods last month, as quote of the year.
In the wake of widespread public criticism for her decision to supervise flood clean-up operations in the North instead of visiting the South when the floods there were at their worst, the premier responded by saying her husband "is a Southerner," so would not let her ignore the area's plight anyway.
She said she would have loved to inspect the flooded areas herself, but the widespread nature and timing of the disasters meant she had no option but to delegate tasks to various lawmakers and members of her cabinet.
"I feel like I just have to take a step back from anything that makes me feel bad, because hating someone is tiresome," said Ms Paetongtarn at Government House on Monday.
When asked about her goals for next year after receiving the feedback from the press, Ms Paetongtarn said she will put her focus on chronic social issues plaguing the country, before pledging to expedite the nation's economic recovery.
