BANGKOK: Thailand’s Constitutional Court on Tuesday suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra from duty pending a case seeking her dismissal, in a major setback for a government under fire on multiple fronts and fighting for its survival.
The court accepted a petition from 36 senators accusing Paetongtarn of dishonesty and breaching ethical standards, based on a leak of a sensitive telephone call with Cambodia’s influential former leader Hun Sen that was intended to de-escalate a territorial row and tense troop buildup at their border.
The leaked June 15 call triggered domestic fury and has left Paetongtarn’s coalition with a razor-thin majority after a big party abandoned the alliance and accused her of undermining sovereignty, as protest groups threaten more demonstrations to demand a new government.
Paetongtarn’s battles after only 10 months in office underline an intractable power struggle between the billionaire Shinawatra dynasty and an influential establishment backed by the army - a two-decade grudge match that has seen two military coups and court rulings that have toppled multiple parties and prime ministers.
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