Thai PM sacked from office over leaked call

Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the Prime Minister of Thailand, has been removed from office over a leaked phone call with former Cambodian leader Hun Sen.

The court ruled that the daughter of a highly influential ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra, violated the leader’s ethical conduct.

A call was made between the two leaders to ease tensions between Cambodia and Thailand over a border dispute. 

However, people got enraged because the lady seemed too “submissive” and friendly in the conversation, calling the opposite “uncle” and promising to “take care of it” if he wanted anything.

She also bashed the high-ranking Thai general during the conversation, which was considered a big violation because the military is too powerful in Thailand.

A judge stated the court ruling:

“Her actions have led to loss of trust, prioritising personal interests over national interest, which fuelled public suspicion that she was siding with Cambodia and diminished confidence in her as PM among Thai citizens. The defendant has not upheld the ethical code of conduct. Her tenure as prime minister effectively ended with the suspension on July 1.”

The leaked call led to a major political shake-up in Thailand. A major political party resigned from the government, which left her with a very small majority in the parliament.

Border tensions also escalated, leading to several days of fighting, killing dozens of people and displacing over 2,60,000.

Paetongtarn is out of the office, and the Thai parliament needs to choose a new prime minister.

This is a big problem for her political party (Pheu Thai), as this is the sixth time in two decades that a PM from their political faction has been removed from office by the court.

According to the latest reports, the sacked Thai PM Paetongtarn accepted the court verdict to remove her from office.

Who is the current PM of Thailand?

An interim leader has assumed the role of PM following the removal of Paetongtarn Shinawatra from office.