Thailand’s Prime Minister Suspended After Leaked Telephone Call

What Happened?

Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra was suspended by Thailand’s Constitutional Court yesterday following public anger over a leaked phone call to former Cambodian leader Hun Sen. She will now have fifteen days to present her defense to the constitutional court, and in the interim Thailand’s deputy prime minister will become the acting prime minister.

In the leaked phone call, Paetongtarn referred to Hun Sen as ‘uncle,’ and criticized a Thai military commander, which sparked public anger and a petition for her dismissal, which the constitutional court is now considering.

Why it Matters

The root cause of the phone call was a long-standing border dispute between Cambodia and Thailand. Which recently flared up again due to the death of a Cambodian soldier in the border region, though it is unclear if Thailand’s military had any direct involvement in the fatality. A sizeable portion of the public in Thailand perceived the call as being overly deferential to Cambodia, and their ill feelings towards that country fueled the anger at Shinawatra. 

The Shinawatra family has dominated politics in Thailand for the past two decades, and there have been persistent accusations of corruption. Those accusations, some of which may have merit, also likely contributed to the rapid public outcry against her. It would be fair to say Ms. Shinawatra and her family are not popular in Thailand, and many in the public were just looking for a reason to protest against her.

There have been several large protests in Thailand’s capitol in recent days demanding Ms. Shinawatra’s resignation or removal from office. The constitutional court was likely swayed by these demonstrations of public anger against the prime minister. Off the call to Cambodia, Ms. Shinawatra said, ‘I had no intent to do it for my own interest. I only thought about how to avoid chaos, avoid fighting and to avoid loss of lives.’ Arguing she was trying to defuse potential hostilities between Cambodia and Thailand.

Whether the constitutional court buys that argument will be seen in the next two weeks, but even if they do it is unlikely to dampen the public’s anger towards Ms. Shinawatra and her family. If she remains in office, public protests may intensify and spread to other parts of the country. If she is eventually dismissed, Paetongtarn will be the second prime minister from the Pheu Thai party to be removed from premiership since August last year.

How it Affects You

In an internet dominated world where communications like phone calls can be shared online instantly it can be difficult to keep secrets for long, especially for public figures. While more transparency is generally a good thing, sometimes diplomatic maneuvering which would have once been conducted behind closed doors, can now be exposed to public view, often with severe consequences.