Thailand in fresh political turmoil as PM suspended

Thailand’s first political family has been plunged into fresh crisis with Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra suspended and her father, former PM Thaksin Shinawatra, facing charges.

Thailand's Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra after a cabinet meeting in Bangkok on Tuesday. Picture: AFP

Thailand was plunged into a fresh political crisis on Tuesday after Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra was suspended from office pending investigation over a leaked phone call with former Cambodian leader Hun Sen.

The country’s pro-Royalist Constitutional Court voted 7-2 to immediately suspend Ms Paetongtarn after unanimously accepting a petition from 36 senators alleging she had breached constitutional ethics during the conversation.

The PM now has 15 days to respond to the charge which could lead to her dismissal.

“The ruling has come out and I accept the court’s decision,” Ms Paetongtarn said at Bangkok’s Government House after the verdict.

“I’d like to reiterate that it’s always been my intention to do the best thing for my country.”

The finding has plunged Thailand into further upheaval just as the government is struggling to kickstart the economy and negotiate a way through US tariff threats.

“The Thai political system is grinding to a halt,” warned Thai political scientist Thithinan Pongsudhirak, who told The Australian Tuesday’s decision was part of a “deliberate pattern over 20 years to keep the political settings fractious”.

“The conservative establishment don’t know how to take power themselves because their proxies can’t win elections. But the people that do win they don’t like so they want to take them down. Every time there is an election it gets subverted or manipulated,” he said.

“The country will go nowhere unless the people say ‘enough’, or there is a compromise. I thought bringing Thaksin back was a compromise but it was only to keep the Move Forward party out, not for Thailand to move forward.”

The 38-year-old, the country’s youngest PM, has faced growing calls to step down over a June 15 phone call with Hun Sen, whom she referred to as “uncle” during a conversation in which she described a Thai military commander as her “opposition” and also offered to “arrange” anything the former Cambodian leader needed.

Hun Sen is a long-time friend of Ms Paetongtarn’s father Thaksin Shinawatra, the billionaire two-time former PM who is facing his own legal challenges, including a charge of having insulted the monarchy which is punishable by up to 15 years jail.

Deputy prime minister Suriya Juagroongruangkit will act as caretaker PM while the court decides the case against Ms Paetongtarn, who will remain in cabinet as the new culture minister following a reshuffle.

“Government work doesn’t stop, there is no problem,” said Tourism Minister Sorawong Thienthong in the wake of the decision.

But Thai analyst Napon Jatusripitak told The Australian the court ruling would put intense pressure on Ms Paetongtarn’s ruling coalition partners to withdraw support for her government, which was already teetering on the edge of collapse after coalition partner Bumjaithai withdrew support last month.

“If only a handful of MPs leave that would mean her government would not be able to pass important bills like the upcoming budget,” he said.

Critics have accused the 38-year-old Prime Minister of kowtowing to Cambodia amid tensions over the disputed border that spilled over into clashes in May, resulting in the death of a Cambodian soldier. Ms Paetongtarn says her language was a negotiating tactic.

But mounting anger over the conversation – intriguingly leaked by Hun Sen himself – has sparked protests in Bangkok and growing calls for her to step down.

Some have speculated the former Cambodian leader’s ­actions were motivated by a business dispute. Others that it was in response to Thailand’s crackdown on online scam centres or that it was linked to the Thai government’s push to legalise casinos that might undermine Cambodian casino profits, said to be the source of the Hun dynasty’s wealth.

Whatever the reason, it has kicked a political hornet’s nest.

The youngest daughter of former PM Thaksin Shinawatra is said to have reluctantly taken the top job last August after the same Constitutional Court removed Srettha Thavisin for breaching constitutional ethics by appointing to cabinet a lawyer who had served jail time.

With her approval rating now at just 9 per cent, Ms Paetongtarn’s battles reflect the sliding political fortunes of Pheu Thai, the populist party of Thaksin Shinawatra which has dominated Thai elections since 2001.

Mr Thaksin, 75, appeared in the Bangkok Criminal Court on Tuesday to answer allegations he insulted the Thai monarchy during a 2015 interview he gave while in self-imposed exile. A verdict on that charge, punishable by up to 15 years’ jail, is ­expected next month.

The Supreme Court is also investigating whether a previous jail sentence for conflict of interest and abuse of power was properly enforced.

Ms Paetongtarn is the Shinawatra family’s third PM, after her father who was ousted by a military coup and her aunt Yingluck who was ousted in a court ruling following a military coup.