Thailand’s Constitutional Court was due to meet on Tuesday to consider a petition seeking the dismissal of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, as pressure mounts on a government battling to survive and under fire on multiple fronts.
The petition by 36 senators accuses Paetongtarn of dishonesty and breaching ethnical standards in violation of the constitution over a leaked telephone conversation with Cambodia’s influential former leader Hun Sen. If the court accepts the case, it could decide to suspend the premier from duty with immediate effect.
During a June 15 call intended to defuse escalating border tensions with Cambodia, Paetongtarn, 38, kowtowed before Hun Sen and criticised a Thai army commander, a red line in a country where the military has significant clout. She has apologised and said her remarks were a negotiating tactic.
The leaked conversation triggered outrage and has left Paetongtarn’s coalition with a razer-thin majority, with a key party abandoning the alliance and expected to soon seek a no confidence vote in parliament, as thousands of demonstrators demand the premier resigns.
Paetongtarn’s battles after only 10 months in power underline the declining strength of the Pheu Thai Party, the populist juggernaut of the billionaire Shinawatra dynasty that has dominated Thai elections since 2001, enduring military coups and court rulings that have toppled multiple governments and prime ministers.
It has been a baptism of fire for political novice Paetongtarn, who came to office abruptly as Thailand’s youngest premier and replacement for Srettha Thavisin, who was dismissed by the Constitutional Court for violating ethics by appointing a minister who was once jailed.
Paetongtarn’s government has also been struggling to revive a stuttering economy and her popularity has declined sharply, with a June 19-25 opinion poll released at the weekend showing her approval rating sinking to 9.2% from 30.9% in March.
Paetongtarn is not alone in her troubles, with influential father Thaksin Shinawatra, the driving force behind her government, facing legal hurdles of his own in two different courts this month.
Divisive tycoon Thaksin has his first hearing at Bangkok’s Criminal Court on Tuesday in a case centred on allegations he insulted Thailand’s powerful monarchy, a serious offence punishable by up to 15 years in prison if found guilty. He denies the charges and has repeatedly pledged allegience to the crown.
The case stems from a 2015 media interview Thaksin gave while in self-imposed exile, from which he returned in 2023 to serve a prison sentence for conflicts of interest and abuse of power.
Thaksin, 75, dodged jail and spent six months in hospital detention on medical grounds before being released on parole in February last year. The Supreme Court will this month scrutinise that hospital stay and could potentially send him back to jail.
(Reporting by Panu Wongcha-um and Panarat Thepgumpanat; )
