BANGKOK: Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra will on Friday (Jun 20) visit an army commander she called an “opponent” in a leaked phone call as she battles to defuse a crisis threatening to topple her government.
The 38-year-old leader, in office for less than a year, was forced to make a public apology on Thursday as anger flared over the call with former Cambodian leader Hun Sen that appeared online.
Her main coalition partner, the conservative Bhumjaithai party, pulled out on Wednesday saying she had insulted the country and the army, putting her government on the point of collapse.
There was better news for Paetongtarn, daughter of controversial billionaire ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra, on Friday as another important coalition partner, the conservative Democrat Party, pledged to stay.
“The Democrat Party will remain in the government to help resolve the challenges the country is currently facing,” the party said in a statement.
Another coalition party, Chartthaipattana, said late on Thursday that it would not withdraw, after urgent talks on the crisis with the Democrats and the United Thai Nation (UTN) party.
With the departure of Bhumjaithai, the government led by Paetongtarn’s Pheu Thai party now holds a razor-thin majority in parliament.
Losing another major partner would likely see the government collapse, plunging the kindgom into fresh political instability as it grapples with a stuttering economy and US President Donald Trump’s threatened trade tariffs.
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