By Martin Petty and Jason Szep
October 28, 2011 12:47 PM EDT
In the early days of Thailand's devastating floods, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra was seen knee-deep in muddy waters in wading boots, greeting evacuated villagers, surrounded by clicking cameras, and appearing to take charge.
Fast-forward a month, as the worst floods in half a century close in on inner-city Bangkok, Yingluck's three-month-old government is under fire for badly managing the crisis -- from shoddy policy coordination to poor communication and conflicts with the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration.
With rising river waters this weekend threatening to breach dikes protecting the city of 12 million, her decisions and her mis-steps are fodder for critics and political pundits.
They could ruin her political prospects and those of her young government. Or they could embolden her by giving much-sought autonomy from her powerful brother -- the twice-elected and now-fugitive former prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra.
Diplomats, independent analysts and those close to the 44-year-old businesswoman-turned-premier say she is likely to emerge from the crisis with her government intact, particularly if she spends heavily on reviving businesses and water-management infrastructure.
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"It's true the public has misgivings. She could have taken a tougher approach. But she knows what to do to get us out of this situation," said a senior official in Yingluck's Puea Thai Party who requested anonymity.
"The recovery will give her a chance to prove herself as a leader."
The toll on life and business is rising in the country of 67 million, whose official slogan - "The Land of Smiles" - has been strained by one crisis after another in recent years, from bloody political unrest last year to the occupation of Bangkok's international airport by protesters in 2008 to a military coup in 2006 and the deadly Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004.
The floods have killed at least 377 people since July with 2.2 million affected, including hundreds of thousands in Bangkok's submerged northern districts and in industrialized provinces.
Rice output in the world's biggest exporter for 2011/12 has fallen six million tonnes, or 24 percent, to 19 million tonnes. Annual GDP growth in the $319 billion economy has been pared to 2.6 percent this year from 4.1 percent.
People are stranded in flooded homes, without food, water, electricity and, in many cases, insurance. Cases of water-borne sickness, drowning and electrocution have been rising.
Crocodiles and snakes have been seen in streets usually thronged by noodle vendors and shoppers. Boats and cars share the once-congested highways. Housing estates have been transformed into urban reservoirs.
The vast Chao Phraya river that winds past glittering temples, palaces, embassies and high-end hotels near the central business district is bulging from record water levels. Bangkok is on edge with high tide approaching, many of its sleek office towers and shopping plazas fortified by makeshift sandbag barriers.
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