Thailand’s prime minister has been removed by the Constitutional Court, plunging the country’s politics into turmoil and dealing a blow to its most powerful political dynasty.
Paetongtarn Shinawatra was dismissed for violating ethics in a leaked June phone call, where she could be heard calling Cambodia’s former leader Hun Sen “uncle” and criticising the Thai army, amid worsening border tensions with Cambodia.
The call, leaked by Hun Sen himself, damaged her reputation and critics accused her of undermining the country’s army.
The ruling makes Paetongtarn, the daughter of former PM Thaksin Shinawatra, the fifth prime minister to be removed from office by the court since 2008.
Thai politics are very strange from a Western perspective.
I know enough about it to know that I just don’t get it at all and trying to understand through the prism of Western politics is just confusing.
However, without knowing anything about this specific situation my strong suspicion is that this phone call was a convenient excuse to remove her.