Thai prime minister suspended over leaked phone call
In the meantime the deputy PM will serve as the country's acting leader. Paetongtarn, however, will remain in the cabinet as culture minister, a new appointment following a cabinet reshuffle that was endorsed hours before she was suspended.
On Tuesday, Paetongtarn apologised again, adding that the purpose of her phone call with Hun Sen was "more than 100%... for the country".
The call was about the border dispute between the two countries - although it's decades old, tensions have risen again since late May when a Cambodian soldier was killed.
The leaked audio especially angered conservative lawmakers who accused her of appeasing Hun Sen and undermining Thailand's military.
But she defended herself on Tuesday, saying, "I had no intent to do it for my own interest. I only thought about how to avoid chaos, avoid fighting and to avoid loss of lives.
"If you listened to it carefully, you'd understand that I didn't have ill intentions. This is what I'll focus and spend time on explaining thoroughly."
If she is eventually dismissed, Paetongtarn will be the second prime minister from the Pheu Thai party to be removed from premiership since August last year.
At that time, her predecessor Srettha Thavisin was dismissed, also by the constitutional court, for appointing to his cabinet a former lawyer who was once jailed.
Days later, Paetongtarn - whose father is Thailand's deposed leader Thaksin Shinawatra - was sworn in as prime minister.
Tuesday's decision once again underscores the constitutional court's power to unmake governments, which critics say can be weaponised to target political opponents.
This court has dissolved 34 parties since 2006, including the reformist Move Forward, which won the most seats and votes in the 2023 election but was blocked from forming the government.
"This has become a pattern in Thai politics... a part of the Thai political culture, which is not what a true political process is supposed to be," said Titipol Phakdeewanich, a political science lecturer at Ubon Ratchathani University.
"The suspension by court order shouldn't have happened but most people could see its legitimacy because the leaked conversation really made people question if the PM was genuinely defending the interest of the country."
Paetongtarn, 38, remains the country's youngest leader and only the second woman to be PM after her aunt, Yingluck Shinawatra.
Already struggling to revive a weak economy, Paetongtarn saw her approval rating fall to 9.2% last weekend, down from 30.9% in March.
The court's decision comes on the same day as Paetongtarn's father, who was seen as the driving force behind her government, battles his own political troubles.
Thaksin is fighting charges of insulting the monarchy over an interview he gave to a South Korean newspaper nine years ago. His trial started on Tuesday.
The controversial political leader, who returned to Thailand in 2023 after 15 years in exile, is the most high-profile figure to face charges under the country's notorious lese majeste law.
Thaksin's return was part of a grand compromise between Pheu Thai and its former conservative foes.
They include the military, which deposed two Shinawatra governments in coups, and groups close to the monarchy.
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The Guardian
8 hours ago
- The Guardian
The leaked phone call that could ring the changes for one of Thailand's most powerful dynasties
It was a call to someone she considered an old family friend. When Thai prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra picked up the phone to Hun Sen, the powerful former leader of neighbouring Cambodia, she was trying, she says, to ease tensions that had erupted over a border dispute. Instead their conversation, curiously published in full by Hun Sen himself after an initial clip was leaked, has sparked a fresh political crisis in Thailand that could signal the end of her premiership and significantly dent the position of her family, the powerful Shinawatras. It is also likely to usher in a new chapter of political uncertainty in a country prone to military coups and judicial warfare. On Tuesday, the constitutional court suspended Paetongtarn from office pending an ethics investigation, just days after 10,000 people took to the streets demanding her resignation. The leaked phone recording has caused outrage in Thailand, where Paetongtarn's critics feel she is, at best, too politically naive to protect her country's interests – and, at worst, a traitor. In the recording, Paetongtarn can be heard addressing Hun Sen as 'uncle', saying that if there were anything he wanted, she would 'take care of it' and criticising a senior Thai military commander. Paetongtarn, 38, had never served in government before she became prime minister less than a year ago. She took office only after after her predecessor Srettha Thavisin was disqualified by a court ruling. The Shinawatras – no stranger to street protests, punitive court rulings or even military interventions – have weathered many political storms before. The family's patriarch, former leader Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a coup in 2006, has remained one of Thailand's most influential, and controversial politicians, even after spending more than 15 years in self-imposed exile. But Paetongtarn, Thailand's youngest prime minister, took office at an especially difficult moment, presiding over an unlikely coalition formed after her father struck a Faustian bargain a year earlier, through which his party joined with his old enemies to form a government. The controversial arrangement was mutually beneficial, allowing conservatives to keep a new threat – the youthful pro-reform Move Forward party – out of office. Thaksin, who had been in self-imposed exile to avoid corruption charges, returned to the country without spending as much as 24 hours in prison. Still the uproar this week has sparked questions about whether the latest crisis could mark the final chapter for the powerful Shinawatra dynasty. 'I think the elite have become more and more confident that they might not have to rely on Thaksin any more,' says Pavin Chachavalpongpun, professor at the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at Kyoto University. 'Paetongtarn will eventually be overthrown in whichever way … they have run out of representatives from the Shinawatra dynasty,' Pavin says. Even if other relatives step forward, in his view 'Thai people have had enough'. Paetongtarn is now the fourth in her family to be prime minister, but over the years she has witnessed her family's power wax and wane. As a student, Paetongtarn lived through Yellow Shirts protests that rallied against her father and eventually forced him from power. Later, in 2008, Thaksin's brother-in-law Somchai Wongsawat was prime minister briefly, but was dismissed by a court ruling. Thaksin's sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, who served as prime minister from 2011-2014, was also removed by a court order, followed by a coup, in 2014. Many of the protest leaders who rallied against Paetongtarn on Saturday are veteran activists who once rallied against her relatives. The focus of the anti-Paetongtarn protests is, however, different from those in the past. 'There are legitimate reasons for staging a protest to insist on the prime minister stepping down,' said Dr Napon Jatusripitak, visiting fellow at ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute. 'But of course, in a political context like Thailand, protests take on a life of their own.' There is concern that if rallies escalate and become unmanageable, they could be used as a pretext for a military coup – though most analysts do not consider this to be an immediate threat. There are other steps that could be taken to permanently oust Paetongtarn or protect elite interests, including the filing of court cases. 'At this stage, the conservative establishment hasn't exhausted all its options. We haven't yet gone through the full circle of protests, judicial interventions yet,' said Napon. The same day that Paetongtarn was suspended, her father Thaksin also appeared in court to face lese majesty allegations. Thaksin had likely hoped the case, which relates to comments he made to South Korean media in a 2015 interview, had gone away. Thaksin first rose to power in 2001, and developed a loyal support base among voters in the country's poorer, rural north-east after offering policies that improved livelihoods. But he was loathed by the military royalist establishment, and a long-running power struggle between the two sides has led to a cycle of protests, military and court interventions ever since. Even before the current crisis, Pheu Thai, the party founded by Thaksin, was already struggling to deliver on its election promises, while its decision to make a deal with its old enemies threatened its credibility. In the short term, deputy prime minister, Suriya Juangroongruangkit, has taken over as caretaker while the constitutional court considers the case against Paetongtarn. Wanwichit Boonprong, political scientist at Rangsit University, said the Pheu Thai-led government will seek to do 'everything to prevent the dissolution of parliament because the government party is not ready to run in the election'. Even if Paetongtarn survives the constitutional court investigation, other bodies including the anti corruption agency, may launch their own inquiries. Protest groups may also continue their rallies. Paetongtarn is, said Wanwichit, considered 'politically bankrupt'. It is unclear what happens next – and whether Thaksin will be able to strike a deal. And the family's old-friend-turned foe, Hun Sen, may also continue to cause trouble from across the border. He has previously threatened to 'expose' comments made to him by Thaksin, which he claims include insults to Thailand's powerful monarchy. The details of such remarks, if indeed they do exist, is yet to be seen. 'If you act arrogantly, I will expose everything you told me,' he said.
Economist
9 hours ago
- Economist
Conservatives circle around the movement founded by her father
|1 min read Thailand's Constitutional Court has suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra following a petition alleging she breached ethics in a call to Hun Sen, Cambodia's strongman, which he leaked. Ms Paetongtarn appears to disparage a Thai general for being hot-headed over a border spat between the two countries. The petition, by senators, suggests conservative forces in the army, palace and parliament are calling time on the populist movement long led by Ms Paetongtarn's father, Thaksin Shinawatra. He, too, is in court on charges of lèse-majesté. In 2008 the generals ousted him in a coup; in 2014 they seized power from his sister. This time the Shinawatras look likelier to be dispatched with a gavel. ■
The Independent
11 hours ago
- The Independent
Suspended PM among Thailand's new cabinet members to take oath
Thailand's new Cabinet members took their oaths of office Thursday, including the suspended prime minister who is under an ethics investigation for her remarks to a senior Cambodian leader. Paetongtarn Shinawatra was suspended as prime minister Tuesday, the same day Thailand 's king endorsed a Cabinet lineup in which she would be the culture minister. Ms Shinawatra was smiling as she arrived at Government House for the swearing-in ceremony with other new members, but did not answer questions. Acting prime minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit led the new cabinet members at the ceremony to receive the endorsement from King Maha Vajiralongkorn. Mr Jungrungreangkit is expected later to assign the acting prime minister duty to Phumtham Wechayachai, who was sworn in Thursday as deputy prime minister and interior minister. Phumtham had been deputy prime minister and defense minister since Paetongtarn took office last year. Ms Shinawatra has faced growing dissatisfaction over her handling of a border dispute with Cambodia, including an armed confrontation in May in which a Cambodian soldier was killed. In a leaked phone call with Cambodian senate president Hun Sen, she attempted to defuse tensions – but instead set off a string of complaints and public protests. Critics said she went to far in appeasing Hun Sen and damaged Thailand's image and reputation. The Constitutional Court voted unanimously Tuesday to review a petition accusing her of a breach of the ethics, and voted 7-2 to immediately suspend her until it issues its ruling. The court gave Ms Shinawatra 15 days to give evidence to support her case. It's unclear when it will rule.
