Thai PM faces legal tests after averting coalition collapse
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The Constitutional Court is set to meet on July 1, and will likely consider a similar plea.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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BANGKOK – Thailand’s anti-graft agency will probe Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra’s controversial phone call with ex-Cambodian leader Hun Sen, according to local media reports, as her rivals seek legal recourse to force her ouster.
The Thai National Anti-Corruption Commission’s decision on June 23 to launch a preliminary investigation into the embattled leader came in response to a petition by Senate Speaker Mongkol Surasajja, Bangkok Post reported, without saying where it got the information.
The petitioner wants the agency to determine if the Thai Prime Minister committed corruption by wilfully violating the Constitution or laws, or seriously breached ethical standards, the report said.
The Constitutional Court is set to meet on July 1, and will likely consider a similar plea asking if Ms Paetongtarn should be removed from office for ethical breaches.
Mr Ruangkrai Leekitwattana, a political activist, has also petitioned the Election Commission to investigate a leaked audio recording
Thailand has seen several past leaders ousted, either by court orders or through military coups.
Ms Paetongtarn’s immediate predecessor Srettha Thavisin was dismissed by the Constitutional Court for an ethical breach, and governments run by two of her family members were removed during military coups.
Ms Paetongtarn remained unfazed by the legal challenges.
“I’m ready to support with any information or clarification needed,” Ms Paetongtarn told reporters on June 24. “As the audio recording showed, I didn’t gain anything from it and I didn’t cause the country any losses either. It was a private conversation that shouldn’t have been shared.”
The 38-year-old Thai Prime Minister, the third member of the influential Shinawatra clan to lead Thailand, has rejected calls to quit following the crisis sparked by the leaked phone call.
The episode caused the conservative Bhumjaithai Party to quit her coalition
Ms Paetongtarn said a revamped Cabinet line-up has been finalised, and new candidates will be vetted this week.
The reshuffle is set to reward smaller parties that still pledge to support her government, with an ex-general expected to be named the new defence minister, according to media reports.
The move was made possible by the exit of eight Bhumjaithai ministers last week in the wake of the phone scandal and disagreement over the planned reshuffle.
The barrage of legal challenges and threats of fresh public protests may sour investor sentiment towards Thai assets, which are already under pressure from the prospect of the lowest economic growth since the Covid-19 pandemic.
The economy is being hobbled by the region’s highest household debt and the looming threat of a punitive 36 per cent tariff on exports to the US.
The anti-graft agency has set a deadline of 10 days to complete its preliminary probe.
If it finds sufficient grounds, a formal inquiry by its Board of Commissioners – or a full panel – may be announced, The Nation reported. BLOOMBERG
