Thailand's prime minister suspended over leaked phone call with former strongman
Paetongtarn Shinawatra, 38, has only held the premiership for 10 months after replacing her predecessor, who was removed from office. Her suspension brings fresh uncertainty to a country roiled by years of political turbulence and leadership shake-ups.
The Constitutional Court accepted a petition brought by a group of 36 senators who accused Paetongtarn of violating the constitution for breaching ethical standards in the leaked call, which was confirmed as authentic by both sides.
The court voted to suspend Paetongtarn from her prime ministerial duties until it reaches a verdict in the ethics case. Paetongtarn will remain in the Cabinet as culture minister following a reshuffle.
Paetongtarn has faced increasing calls to resign, with anti-government protesters taking to the streets of the capital Bangkok on Saturday, after the leaked call with Cambodia's Hun Sen over an escalating border dispute sparked widespread anger in the country.
The scandal prompted the Bhumjaithai party, a major partner of the prime minister's government, to withdraw from the coalition last week, dealing a major blow to her Pheu Thai party's ability to hold power. Paetongtarn is also contending with plummeting approvals ratings and faces a no-confidence vote in parliament.
In the leaked call, which took place on June 15, Paetongtarn could be heard calling former Cambodian strongman Hun Sen 'uncle' and appeared to criticize her own army's actions after border clashes led to the death of a Cambodian soldier last month.
The Thai prime minister could be heard telling Hun Sen that she was under domestic pressure and urged him not to listen to the 'opposite side,' in which she referred to an outspoken Thai army commander in Thailand's northeast.
She also added that if Hun Sen 'wants anything, he can just tell me, and I will take care of it.'
Her comments in the leaked audio struck a nerve in Thailand, and opponents accused her of compromising the country's national interests.
Thailand and Cambodia have had a complicated relationship of both cooperation and rivalry in recent decades. The two countries share a 508-mile (817-kilometer) land border – largely mapped by the French while they occupied Cambodia – that has periodically seen military clashes and been the source of political tensions.
In the wake of the scandal, Paetongtarn tried to downplay her remarks to Hun Sen, saying at a press conference she was trying to diffuse tensions between the two neighbors and the 'private' call 'shouldn't have been made public.'
The prime minister said she was using a 'negotiation tactic' and her comments were 'not a statement of allegiance.'
Paetongtarn became prime minister last year after the Constitutional Court ruled that her predecessor Srettha Thavisin had breached ethics rules and voted to dismiss him as prime minister.
The same court also dissolved the country's popular progressive Move Forward Party, which won the most seats in the 2023 election, and banned its leaders from politics for 10 years.
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3 hours ago
The suspension of Thailand's prime minister over a leaked phone call stirs familiar turmoil
BANGKOK -- The Constitutional Court's suspension of Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has raised questions about whether her family's political comeback last year would end with another downfall. Paetongtarn was the third prime minister in her family, after her father, Thaksin Shinawatra, a telecom billionaire who has been one of Thailand's top political operators, and her aunt, Yingluck Shinawatra, who was the country's first female prime minister. Thaksin was ousted by a military coup in 2006 and Yingluck by a court ruling in 2014. Thaksin remained beloved after his ouster among voters who saw in him and his allies a government that looked after their interests. While campaigning in 2022, Paetongtarn acknowledged her family ties but insisted she was not her father's proxy. 'It's not the shadow of my dad. I am my dad's daughter, always and forever, but I have my own decisions,' she said. She also said she hoped her government would be able to 'build opportunity and quality of life' and 'make the country go forward.' Paetongtarn was suspended Tuesday by the court pending an ethics investigation a leaked phone call with senior Cambodian leader Hun Sen that was perceived as damaging to Thailand's interests and image. Her critics have said Paetongtarn's government has achieved little. Marriage equality became law but was initiated under her predecessor. Controls on cannabis were retightened after public backlash over decriminalization, but the move and its enforcement were called rushed and confusing. Her critics also cited unsatisfactory outcomes in other Pheu Thai party policies, like unequal minimum wage increases, constant changes in a cash handout program and the stalled and controversial legalization of casinos. They also noted the lack of progress in tariffs talks with the United States. But analysts see the leaked call following border tensions with Cambodia to be the most disastrous event by far. The outrage has centered on Paetongtarn's comments about an outspoken Thai army commander and the perception that she was trying to appease Hun Sen. Paetongtarn apologized but also denied that she had damaged the country. She ignored calls for her to resign or dissolve Parliament to take responsibility, which critics saw as an attempt by the Pheu Thai party to cling to power. Napon Jatusripitak, a political science researcher at Singapore's ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, said her response seemed 'totally disconnected from political reality' and that the scandal has exposed 'her leadership failures and fuels accusations that she prioritizes family interests over national welfare.' Her father, Thaksin, is believed to be the key decision maker behind Pheu Thai, now led by Paetongtarn. Time and again, Thaksin-backed parties have prevailed in national elections but could not stay in office after legal rulings and destabilizing street protests engineered by Thaksin's die-hard foes. But in 2023, Thaksin alienated many of his old supporters with what looked like a self-serving deal with his former conservative opponents. It allowed his return from exile and his party to form the new government, while sidelining the progressive Move Forward Party, which finished first in a national election but was seen by the conservative establishment as a greater threat. Now with the current crisis, things could drastically change for the Shinawatra family. 'In light of the recent controversy, the Shinawatra spell has been broken. The only viable Shinawatra scion is now tainted,' Napon said. 'It would be an understatement to say that the Shinawatra name no longer guarantees electoral success.' And not everything has been squared away with her family's enemies. Yingluck remains in exile, and legal problems — arguably politically inspired — could send her to prison if she returns to Thailand. Thaksin also still faces some legal challenges. Thailand's royalist establishment has long been disturbed that Thaksin's populist policies appeared to threaten their status and that of the monarchy at the heart of Thai identity. Paetongtarn now also faces protests by familiar faces from the same conservative, pro-royalist group that opposed her father. 'History seems to be repeating itself in a way. Thailand seems trapped in a depressingly familiar cycle where Shinawatra-led governments come to power, only to face mounting pressure from traditional power centers, street protests, and extraparliamentary interventions that ultimately force them from office,' Napon said. Paetongtarn, 38, is the youngest of Thaksin's three children. She was an executive in a hotel business run by her family before making her public entry into politics in 2021 when the Pheu Thai party named her to lead an advisory committee. She has two children with her husband, Pitaka Suksawat, who was a commercial pilot before he began working in one of the Shinawatras' real estate ventures.
3 hours ago
Constitutional Court suspends Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra over a leaked phone call
Constitutional Court suspends Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra over a leaked phone call BANGKOK -- Constitutional Court suspends Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra over a leaked phone call.
Los Angeles Times
4 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
Court suspends Thailand's prime minister to investigate a leaked phone call
BANGKOK — Thailand's Constitutional Court suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra on Tuesday, pending an ethics investigation over accusations that she was too deferential to a senior Cambodian leader when the two discussed a recent border dispute in a phone call that was leaked. Paetongtarn has faced growing dissatisfaction over her handling of the dispute, which involved an armed confrontation on May 28, in which one Cambodian soldier was killed. In a call with Cambodian Senate President Hun Sen, she attempted to defuse tensions — but instead set off a string of complaints and public protests by critics who accused her of being too fawning. Paetongtarn's suspension raises the possibility of renewed instability in Thailand, a still fragile democracy that has suffered several similar bouts of uncertainty. At the root of much of that were concerns from the conservative establishment, including the military, that the political dynasty started by Paetongtarn's father, the popular but divisive former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, was growing too powerful. She is the third member of her family to hold the prime minister's office — and the third to face the possibility of removal before her term ended. Thaksin was removed from office in a 2006 coup and driven into exile, while his sister, former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawtra, was removed by a court order in 2014, followed shortly after by a coup. This 'recurring cycle of political instability' would likely keep repeating unless Thailand goes through a genuine democratic reform that includes limiting power of unelected institutions, said Purawich Watanasukh, a political science lecturer at Thammasat University in Bangkok. 'Without such foundational reforms, any government, regardless of who leads it, will remain vulnerable to the same forces that have repeatedly disrupted Thailand's democratic development,' he said. The suspension also comes at a time when the country is facing an economic slowdown and growing discontent with Paetongtarn and her Pheu Thai party, in general, with critics saying her government's performance has been underwhelming. The judges voted unanimously Tuesday to review the petition accusing her of a breach of the ethics, and voted 7-2 to immediately suspend her from duty as a prime minister until a ruling is given. The court gave Paetongtarn 15 days to give evidence to support her case. After the court order, Paetongtarn said that she would accept the process and defended her actions. 'I only thought about what to do to avoid troubles, what to do to avoid armed confrontation, for the soldiers not to suffer any loss,' she said. She also apologized to people upset over the leaked call and left the Government House shortly after. Suriya Jungrungruangkit, who is a deputy prime minister and a transport minister, will take charge as acting prime minister, said Chousak Sirinil, minister of the prime minister's office. Earlier Tuesday, before the court suspended Paetongtarn, King Maha Vajiralongkorn had endorsed a Cabinet reshuffle after a major party left the government coalition over the leaked call. In the reshuffle, Paetongtarn also received the position of culture minister, in addition to prime minister, though it's not clear if she can take the oath to take up that role. In the call about the border tensions, Paetongtarn could be heard urging Hun Sen — a longtime friend of her father — not to listen to a Thai regional army commander who had publicly criticized Cambodia about the border dispute, and called him 'an opponent.' Thousands of conservative, nationalist-leaning protesters rallied in central Bangkok on Saturday to demand Paetongtarn's resignation. Paetongtarn also faces separate investigations by another agency over the leaked call — a case that could also lead to her removal. The Constitutional Court last year removed Paetongtarn's predecessor over a breach of ethics. Thailand's courts, especially the Constitutional Court, are viewed as a defender of the royalist establishment, which has used them and nominally independent agencies such as the Election Commission to cripple or sink political opponents. Paetongtarn, 38, is the youngest daughter of Thaksin. Her father has remained beloved by many of the Thailand's poor and working classes who long saw him as their champion. But the family's political fortunes now may be on the wane. Thaksin alienated many of his supporters with what looked like a self-serving deal with his former conservative opponents. It allowed his return from exile in 2023 and the party he supported to form the new government, while sidelining the progressive Move Forward Party, which finished first in a national election, but was seen by the conservative establishment as a greater threat. Thaksin has faced several legal challenges since his return. On Tuesday, he attended a court hearing in a case alleging he defamed the monarchy in 2015. He also is under investigation over the handling of his return to face an eight-year prison term on charges related to corruption and abuse of power. At the time, he was transferred almost immediately to a hospital, and later granted clemency because of his age and health without spending a single night in jail. The complaints argue he avoided properly serving his sentence and raise the possibility that Thaksin could be forced to serve prison time. Saksornchai writes for the Associated Press.
