Thai PM revamps Cabinet in bid to steady wobbly government

BANGKOK – Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has revamped her Cabinet, a move aimed at easing a political crisis that has brought her government to the brink over her handling of a border dispute.

The new Cabinet line-up included Mr Jatuporn Buruspat, a former bureaucrat, as the new commerce minister and several other new faces, according to a Royal Gazette notification endorsed by King Maha Vajiralongkorn.

Senior Pheu Thai politician Phumtham Wechayachai was moved to the Interior Ministry from the Defence Ministry.

Ms Paetongtarn will also oversee the Culture Ministry, a move that could keep her in the Cabinet if a court suspends her as prime minister.

The Constitutional Court

may decide on July 1

whether to accept a petition from senators accusing her of breaching ethical standards, a charge that could lead to disqualification.

The case centres on remarks she made in

a leaked phone call

in June with former Cambodian leader Hun Sen about a border dispute.

The reshuffle – Ms Paetongtarn’s first since taking office in August 2024 – may help her shore up support from smaller parties remaining in her ruling coalition after Bhumjaithai Party, the second-largest group, departed in June and left her ruling bloc with a slim parliamentary majority.

Meanwhile, activists and opponents are pressing ahead with legal challenges, and Bhumjaithai is planning to raise a no-confidence motion.

Ms Paetongtarn has vowed to complete the remaining two years of her term despite mounting pressure.

Signs of coalition unity could help reassure investors amid prolonged political uncertainty. Thai stocks are among the world’s worst performers in 2025 after sliding about 22 per cent.

Bhumjaithai’s departure in the wake of the leaked phone call – in which Ms Paetongtarn appeared to criticise her army over border tensions with the neighbour – opened up eight vacancies in the Cabinet.

But it reduced the ruling bloc’s majority to about 255 seats in the 495-member Parliament.

Slumping popularity

The political turmoil has dented the 38-year-old prime minister’s popularity.

Support for Ms Paetongtarn

fell to single digits

in a recent opinion poll, with only 9.2 per cent of respondents backing her, according to a June 19 to 25 survey by the National Institute of Development Administration. This compares with 30.9 per cent support in the previous survey conducted in March.

Ms Paetongtarn, the third member of the powerful Shinawatra family to lead Thailand, became prime minister in 2024 after her predecessor was removed by the courts over an ethics violation.

Her administration has struggled to rein in record-high household debt and stimulate growth, despite distributing billions in cash to boost consumption.

Thailand is betting on talks with the Trump administration to bring down a punitive 36 per cent tariff on its exports, which threatens to shave off about a percentage point of its projected growth in 2025.

The country’s

economic outlook

is further clouded by a decline in Chinese tourist arrivals and weakening private investment.

The Cabinet changes signal former leader Thaksin Shinawatra’s bid to strengthen the position of his family-backed Pheu Thai Party as the government enters the second half of its four-year tenure.

The party now controls most of the key ministries with significant state budget, including finance, foreign, transport and interior. BLOOMBERG