Bangkok, July 1, 2025 (Agencies)— Thailand’s Constitutional Court has suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra following the release of a controversial phone call with former Cambodian leader Hun Sen, deepening the political uncertainty surrounding her administration.
The court voted 7-2 to suspend Shinawatra while it reviews a petition calling for her dismissal. She now has 15 days to submit her defense. The leaked recording, in which she referred to Hun Sen as “uncle” and criticized a Thai military commander, ignited widespread public backlash and drew condemnation from conservative lawmakers, who accused her of undermining national security.
“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,” Paetongtarn said in her public apology on Tuesday.
The incident stems from a conversation over renewed tensions in a long-standing Thailand-Cambodia border dispute, which flared up in May following the killing of a Cambodian soldier.
Paetongtarn, who remains Thailand’s youngest prime minister and only the second woman to hold the office after her aunt Yingluck Shinawatra, was reassigned as culture minister in a cabinet reshuffle hours before her suspension. In her absence, the deputy prime minister will assume the role of acting leader.
The controversy threatens to make her the third Shinawatra family member to lose power before completing a full term, following the ousters of her aunt Yingluck and father Thaksin Shinawatra, both of whom were removed through court rulings or military coups.
The ruling coalition—already vulnerable after losing a key conservative ally—is facing increasing pressure amid an economic slowdown and Paetongtarn’s plummeting approval ratings, which fell from over 30% in March to just 9.2% last weekend.
The timing of the court’s decision is particularly sensitive as it coincides with the trial of Thaksin Shinawatra, who faces lese majeste charges over a 2015 interview. Once living in exile, Thaksin returned in 2023 as part of a fragile détente between the Pheu Thai party and Thailand’s conservative establishment.
Critics of the judiciary argue the move reflects a persistent trend in Thai politics. Since 2006, the Constitutional Court has dissolved 34 political parties, including the progressive Move Forward Party, despite its landslide victory in the 2023 election.
“This has become a pattern in Thai politics… a part of the Thai political culture, which is not what a true political process is supposed to be,” said political scientist Titipol Phakdeewanich of Ubon Ratchathani University.
The outcome of the ongoing case could reshape Thailand’s volatile political landscape once again and further test the resilience of democratic institutions in the kingdom.