PHONE CALL SCANDAL
A long-standing territorial dispute boiled over into cross-border clashes in May, killing one Cambodian soldier.
But when Paetongtarn called Cambodian ex-leader Hun Sen to discuss the tensions, she called him “uncle” and referred to a Thai military commander as her “opponent”, according to a leaked recording which caused widespread backlash.
Conservative lawmakers accused her of kowtowing to Cambodia and undermining the military, and alleged she breached constitutional provisions requiring “evident integrity” and “ethical standards” among ministers.
Paetongtarn’s Pheu Thai party has already been abandoned by a key conservative coalition partner, leaving her with a razor-thin parliamentary majority dependent on other parties.
Around 10,000 people mustered in central Bangkok over the weekend to protest her administration.
Her approval rating has plunged to just nine per cent, down from around 30 per cent three months ago, according to a survey released Sunday by Bangkok university the National Institute of Development Administration.
Paetongtarn’s case and her father’s trial are the latest round in a bitter, decades-long tussle between Thailand’s powerful conservative forces, and parties linked to Thaksin.
Thaksin was ousted in a coup in 2006, while his sister Yingluck Shinawatra suffered the same fate in 2014 and other prime ministers from their political movement have been sacked by court rulings.
After 15 years abroad, Thaksin returned to Thailand in August 2023.
He was immediately ordered to serve an eight-year jail term for historic graft and abuse of power charges, but was taken to hospital on health grounds and later pardoned by the king.
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