On Friday, Thailand’s Constitutional Court removed suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra from office, months after the 39-year-old leader was suspended pending a review of the case. The decision marks the end of the political career of not only Paetongtarn, daughter of Thailand’s hero former PM Thaksin Shinawatra, but also of the Shinawatra political dynasty.
The daughter of Thaksin Shinawatra, Paetongtarn, was elected to power a year ago, becoming the second woman to be the Prime Minister after her aunt Yingluck Shinawatra. She led her party, Pheu Thai, during last year’s general elections. Though it was the Move Forward party that got the maximum seats, Pheu Thai was allowed to cobble together a coalition of 11 parties to gain power.
Her ascent to the top post was deemed controversial even then, as many presumed her to be “daddy’s girl”, stating she was acting under the instruction of her father, who remains a divisive figure.
A year later, came the 17-minute controversial phone call with Cambodian leader Hun Sen over the border dispute. Though Hun Sen claimed the call could have been leaked by one of the 80 Cambodian officials with whom he shared it, the 72-year-old leader later posted the entire clip on his official Facebook page.
In the clip, Paetongtarn was heard calling Sen “uncle” and went on to criticise the Thai military commander, calling him “opponent”. She goes on to hint that there was discord between her government and the country’s powerful military. The 39-year-old was then heard telling Hun Sen that she was under domestic pressure and urged him not to listen to the “opposite side”, referring to the Thai army commander. “Right now, that side wants to look cool; they will say things that are not beneficial to the nation. But what we want is to have peace just like before any clashes happened at the border,” Paetongtarn could be heard saying. Fighting erupted weeks later and lasted five days.
The leaked clip triggered an uproar in the country, with Thais calling her a traitor. Demonstrations were taken out with protesters calling for Paetongtarn’s resignation.
She tried to downplay the phone call, stating it was private and she was just using a “negotiation tactic” and her comments were “not a statement of allegiance.” “I understand now, this was never about real negotiation. It was political theater,” she said. “Releasing this call… it’s just not the way diplomacy should be done.”
But, she was soon suspended by the Thailand's Constitutional Court, which finally took the decision to oust her. “I think that the Shinawatra brand is done for,” said Napon Jatusripitak, visiting fellow and acting coordinator of the Thailand Studies Programme at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, told Al Jazeera.
