The Thai Constitutional Court dismissed Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra from office yesterday for an ethics contravention after only a year in power, in another crushing blow to the Shinawatra political dynasty that could usher in a new period of turmoil.
Paetongtarn, who was Thailand’s youngest prime minister, becomes the sixth premier from or backed by the billionaire Shinawatra family to be removed by the military or judiciary in a tumultuous two-decade battle for power between the country’s warring elites.
In its verdict, the court said Paetongtarn contravened ethics in a leaked June telephone call, during which she appeared to kowtow to former Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen when both countries were on the brink of an armed border conflict.
Photo: Bloomberg
Fighting erupted weeks later and lasted five days. The decision paves the way for the election by parliament of a new prime minister, a process that could be drawn out, with Paetongtarn’s ruling Pheu Thai party losing bargaining power and facing a challenge to shore up a fragile alliance with a razor-thin majority.
The ruling brings a premature end to the premiership of the daughter and protege of influential tycoon Thaksin Shinawatra. Paetongtarn, 39, was a political neophyte when she was thrust abruptly into the spotlight after the surprise dismissal of her predecessor, former Thai prime minister Srettha Thavisin, by the same court a year ago.
Paetongtarn has apologized over the leaked call and said she was trying to avert a war.
She is the fifth premier in 17 years to be removed by the Thai Constitutional Court, underlining its central role in an intractable power struggle between the elected governments of the Shinawatra clan and a nexus of powerful conservatives and royalist generals with far-reaching influence.
UNCERTAINTY AHEAD
The focus would next shift to who will replace Paetongtarn, with Thaksin expected to be at the heart of a flurry of horse-trading between parties and other power-brokers to try to keep Pheu Thai in charge of the coalition.
Thai deputy prime minister Phumtham Wechayachai and the Cabinet would oversee the government in a caretaker capacity until a new prime minister is elected by the house, with no time limit on when that must take place.
The ruling thrusts Thailand into more political uncertainty at a time of simmering public unease over stalled reforms and a stuttering economy expected by the central bank to grow just 2.3 percent this year.
Any Pheu Thai administration would be a coalition likely to have only a slender majority and could face frequent parliamentary challenges from an opposition with huge public support that is pushing for an early election.
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