‘Big Comrade’: Former defence chief takes reins as acting Thai PM

BANGKOK - Thailand saw its third person helming the prime minister’s office in a week on July 3, as the king swore in a new Cabinet after a court decision plunged the nation’s top office into turmoil.

The prime minister’s office was plunged into crisis on July 1 when the

Constitutional Court suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra,

pending an ethics probe which could take months.

Power passed to Transport Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit,

who took office for only one full day

, as the bombshell was dropped in an awkward interim ahead of the reshuffle.

Former defence minister Phumtham Wechayachai was sworn in as Interior Minister by the king on the morning of July 3, taking on a deputy prime minister role outranking Mr Suriya’s – thus becoming the acting premier.

The Thai government said in a statement on social media that the new Cabinet approved Mr Phumtham’s role as acting prime minister at its first meeting.

Before Ms Paetongtarn was ousted, she assigned herself the role of culture minister in the new Cabinet, meaning she has kept a perch in the upper echelons of power.

The revolving door of leadership comes as the kingdom is battling to revive a spluttering economy and secure a US trade deal, averting US President Donald Trump’s looming threat of a 36 per cent tariff.

‘Big Comrade’ at the helm

Mr Phumtham is considered a loyal lieutenant to the suspended Ms Paetongtarn and her father Thaksin Shinawatra, the powerful patriarch of a dynasty which has dominated Thailand’s 21st-century politics.

Thaksin-linked parties have been jousting with the pro-military, pro-conservative establishment since the early 2000s, but analysts say the family’s political brand has now entered decline.

The 71-year-old Phumtham earned the nickname “Big Comrade” for his association with a left-wing youth movement of the 1970s, but transitioned to politics through a role in Thaksin’s telecoms empire.

In previous Cabinets, he held the defence and commerce portfolios, and spent a spell as acting prime minister after a crisis engulfed the top office last year.

Ms Paetongtarn has been hobbled over a longstanding territorial dispute between Thailand and Cambodia, which boiled over into cross-border clashes in May, which saw one Cambodian soldier killed.

When she

made a diplomatic call to Cambodian ex-leader Hun Sen

, she called him “uncle” and referred to a Thai military commander as her “opponent”, according to a leaked recording, causing widespread backlash.

A conservative party abandoned her ruling coalition – sparking the Cabinet reshuffle – accusing her of kowtowing to Cambodia and undermining the military.

The Constitutional Court said there was “sufficient cause to suspect” Ms Paetongtarn breached ministerial ethics in the diplomatic spat. AFP