Thailand's Prime Minister dismissed over leaked phone call

Paetongtarn Shinawatra, daughter of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, was suspended from her post in July after being accused of failing to defend Thailand during a June phone call with former powerful Cambodian leader Hun Sen, which was leaked online.

In their verdict, the nine judges found that she had not met the ethical standards required of a prime minister during this call.

The 39-year-old leader said she had done her best to act in the national interest. "My intentions were in the interest of the country, not for my personal gain, but for the lives of people, including civilians and soldiers," she told reporters after the court ruling was announced.

A week ago, Paetongtarn's father, billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra, was acquitted of lèse-majesté charges. The 76-year-old former prime minister faced up to 15 years in prison for the offense.

Paetongtarn Shinawatra becomes the third member of her family to step down as head of government after her father and aunt Yingluck, both of whom were overthrown in military coups.

The Constitutional Court had already dismissed his predecessor, Srettha Thavisin, a year ago.

Jiraporn Sindhuprai, a close friend of Ms. Paetongtarn, said Friday before the verdict that she was in "a good state of mind."

Paetongtarn Shinawatra is accused of violating the ethical standards required of a female government leader during a call with former Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.

This interview, recorded and broadcast without the Thai leader's knowledge, took place in June while Bangkok and Phnom Penh were engaged in a standoff since the death of a Cambodian soldier at the end of May, following an exchange of fire with the Thai army in a disputed area of ​​the border.

Bhumjaithai's conservatives then left the coalition formed with his family party, Pheu Thai, criticizing him for his overly reverential tone towards Hun Sen and for having likened a Thai general responsible for monitoring part of the border to an opponent.

Political paralysis

The incident sparked a political crisis and renewed tensions between Thailand and Cambodia. Five days of armed clashes between the two neighbors in July resulted in the deaths of 40 people and the displacement of more than 300,000 others.

Paetongtarn Shinawatra testified in his trial on August 21, his 39th birthday.

For the past two decades, Thai politics has been marked by a struggle between the Shinawatra clan and the conservative elite, who view the former as a threat to the kingdom's traditional social order.

The removal of Paetongtarn Shinawatra could plunge the kingdom into political paralysis, with no natural or expected candidate able to take over as prime minister.

His party, Pheu Thai, governs with a fragile and unstable coalition in parliament.

Under the Thai constitution, only those who officially ran for prime minister in the last election in 2023 are eligible to run.

However, of the nine people initially proposed by the main parties in 2023, four are already ineligible, while the possible candidacies of the other five are also thwarted for various reasons.

Holding new elections could seem like a solution, but it remains unclear whether the current interim Prime Minister, Phumtham Wechayachai, who has so far refused to speculate on Paetongtarn Shinawatra's possible impeachment, can call the polls, or whether only a prime minister approved by parliament has the right to do so.