The Constitutional Court has ruled that Paetongtarn Shinawatra must be dismissed as Prime Minister, after finding her guilty of unethical conduct. The 6–3 majority verdict came after an investigation into a telephone call between Paetongtarn and former Cambodian PM Hun Sen, in which she appeared to side with Cambodia against her own military.
The phone call took place on 15th June, and the Cambodian government released a recording of it online a few days later, to embarrass Paetongtarn at a time of rising tensions between the two countries. During the conversation, Paetongtarn criticised Boonsin Padklang, a regional military commander: “As for the opposition to the Thai government, such as the 2nd Army Region commander, he could say anything that doesn’t benefit the country — anything just to make himself look cool”.
There is an active border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia, and Boonsin commands troops in Thailand’s northeastern region, which includes the Thai–Cambodia border. In the phone call, Paetongtarn also seemed to accept Cambodia’s conditions to resolve the conflict, putting her under pressure from nationalists who protested that the Shinawatra family was putting its personal relationship with Hun Sen before the country’s national security.
This was echoed by yesterday’s verdict. In its judgement, the court said: “Her actions have led to a loss of trust, prioritising personal interest over national interest, which fuelled public suspicion that she was siding with Cambodia and diminished confidence in her as PM among Thai citizens... The defendant has not upheld the ethical code of conduct.”
Anutin Charnvirakul — now a leading candidate to replace Paetongtarn as PM — used the controversy as a pretext to withdraw his Bhumjaithai party from the coalition government, and thirty-six senators petitioned the Constitutional Court, accusing her of breaching ethical standards. She had been suspended as PM for the past two months, during the court’s investigation.
Paetongtarn is the daughter of Thaksin Shinawatra, who has maintained an outsized influence over Thai politics for the past twenty years despite being deposed by the 2006 coup. She is also the fifth PM to have been hand-picked by Thaksin, after Srettha Thavisin, Yingluck Shinawatra, Samak Sundaravej, and Somchai Wongsawat. Coincidentally — or not — all five have been dismissed by the Constitutional Court.
The phone call took place on 15th June, and the Cambodian government released a recording of it online a few days later, to embarrass Paetongtarn at a time of rising tensions between the two countries. During the conversation, Paetongtarn criticised Boonsin Padklang, a regional military commander: “As for the opposition to the Thai government, such as the 2nd Army Region commander, he could say anything that doesn’t benefit the country — anything just to make himself look cool”.
There is an active border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia, and Boonsin commands troops in Thailand’s northeastern region, which includes the Thai–Cambodia border. In the phone call, Paetongtarn also seemed to accept Cambodia’s conditions to resolve the conflict, putting her under pressure from nationalists who protested that the Shinawatra family was putting its personal relationship with Hun Sen before the country’s national security.
This was echoed by yesterday’s verdict. In its judgement, the court said: “Her actions have led to a loss of trust, prioritising personal interest over national interest, which fuelled public suspicion that she was siding with Cambodia and diminished confidence in her as PM among Thai citizens... The defendant has not upheld the ethical code of conduct.”
Anutin Charnvirakul — now a leading candidate to replace Paetongtarn as PM — used the controversy as a pretext to withdraw his Bhumjaithai party from the coalition government, and thirty-six senators petitioned the Constitutional Court, accusing her of breaching ethical standards. She had been suspended as PM for the past two months, during the court’s investigation.
Paetongtarn is the daughter of Thaksin Shinawatra, who has maintained an outsized influence over Thai politics for the past twenty years despite being deposed by the 2006 coup. She is also the fifth PM to have been hand-picked by Thaksin, after Srettha Thavisin, Yingluck Shinawatra, Samak Sundaravej, and Somchai Wongsawat. Coincidentally — or not — all five have been dismissed by the Constitutional Court.
