Leaked phone call Court suspends Thailand's prime minister - what's going on?
After controversial statements in a leaked telephone recording, Thailand's head of government came under pressure. (archive picture)
Image: dpa
Thousands had called for the head of government to resign over the weekend. (archive image)
Image: dpa
The pressure on the Prime Minister had recently been growing. (archive picture)
Image: dpa
After controversial statements in a leaked telephone recording, Thailand's head of government came under pressure. (archive picture)
Image: dpa
Thousands had called for the head of government to resign over the weekend. (archive image)
Image: dpa
The pressure on the Prime Minister had recently been growing. (archive picture)
Image: dpa
Thailand's young head of government is increasingly caught in the crossfire. The trigger was a leaked phone call. Now she has been temporarily suspended following protests. What is the government crisis about?
06.07.2025, 00:00
dpa
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- Thailand's head of government Paetongtarn Shinawatra has been temporarily suspended due to a controversial phone call with Cambodia's former head of government.
- This led to protests and the resignation of a coalition party.
- The deputy head of government will take over until the court makes a decision.
Less than a year after Thailand's head of government Paetongtarn Shinawatra took office, the kingdom is facing a serious government crisis: the country's Constitutional Court has temporarily suspended the 38-year-old from office. It accepted a petition from 36 senators accusing the politician of serious breaches of ethical principles.
The suspension will remain in place until the court reaches a final verdict on whether Paetongtarn has acted unconstitutionally, reported the Bangkok Post newspaper. The head of government had recently come under increasing pressure due to a leaked audio recording of a telephone conversation with Cambodia's former long-term ruler and current Senate President Hun Sen.
Protests in Bangkok
Last weekend, thousands of critics demonstrated in Bangkok and demanded her resignation. Many protesters belong to the conservative "Yellow Shirt Movement", who wear yellow clothing - the symbolic color of the Thai king - to express their loyalty to the monarchy. They once successfully took to the streets against Paetongtarn's father Thaksin Shinawatra and his sister Yingluck Shinawatra.
Both were also former heads of government and were overthrown in 2006 and 2014 respectively following mass protests in military coups. In the current crisis, deputy head of government Suriya Jungrungruangkit is now reportedly taking over temporarily.
What was the phone call about?
The explosive phone call in mid-June was about a long-simmering conflict on the approximately 800-kilometre-long border between the neighboring countries of Thailand and Cambodia. The dispute had most recently escalated following an exchange of fire between soldiers from both countries at the end of May. A Cambodian soldier was killed in the incident.
In response, Cambodia imposed a ban on imports of food, fuel and gas from Thailand, among other things. Last week, Thailand closed the border crossings in six provinces in response.
In her conversation with Cambodia's strongman, Paetongtarn described a high-ranking military officer in the border region as her "opponent" and referred to Hun Sen, a friend of her family, as her "uncle". At the same time, she is said to have made very submissive remarks to him. This caused quite a stir. Although Paetongtarn later apologized, the second-largest coalition party Bhumjaithai left the government alliance out of anger.
Youngest Thai head of government ever
"I was only trying to prevent clashes and further casualties. I emphasize that I had no bad intentions," the "Bangkok Post" quoted the suspended politician as saying. In a statement, she said that she accepted the court's decision, but had always acted for the good of her country and the military.
When she was elected as the new head of government by parliament last August, it was only the second time in Thailand's history that a woman had come to power. At the age of 37, Paetongtarn was also the youngest female prime minister ever in the Southeast Asian country.
Concerns about a new military coup
However, the filthy rich Shinawatra dynasty has many opponents, especially among the nationalists. Paetongtarn's father Thaksin is one of the richest men in the country. From 2008, he lived in self-imposed exile and only returned home in 2023. Shortly afterwards, he was charged with lèse majesté. Despite many legal problems, the 75-year-old is still regarded as an influential string-puller.
Concerns about a possible new coup have recently flared up again. Fear is growing, especially in the important tourism industry. There have been around a dozen coups d'état in Thailand since 1932.
