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Thailand’s prime minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, apologised after a leaked phone conversation with former Cambodian leader Hun Sen prompted public anger and threatened the collapse of her government.
In the leaked call, Paetongtarn – daughter of the populist former leader Thaksin Shinawatra – discusses an ongoing border dispute with Hun Sen, who is known to be a friend of her family.
In the recording, she can be heard criticising a senior Thai military commander who she said “just wanted to look tough”, describing him as an opponent. Addressing Hun Sen as “uncle”, she adds that if there were anything he wanted to “just let me know, I’ll take care of it”.
Paetongtarn told a press conference on Thursday: “I would like to apologise for the leaked audio of my conversation with a Cambodian leader which has caused public resentment.”
Hun Sen, who ruled Cambodia for almost four decades, was succeeded by his son, Hun Manet, the current prime minister, in 2023, but remains politically powerful.
Paetongtarn said her comments were a negotiating tactic, but this has done little to quell public anger.
The Thai foreign ministry summoned the Cambodian ambassador on Thursday to deliver a protest letter complaining about the leaking of the call. The full version was released by Hun Sen after the initial clip was leaked.
The phone call threw Paetongtarn’s government into chaos, threatening to destroy the uneasy partnership formed between her family and their former rivals in the military.
The conservative Bhumjaithai party – the second largest in the coalition – pulled out of the ruling coalition, leaving her government with a slim majority. Leaders of the Chartthaipattana, United Thai Nation and Democrat parties held urgent talks on the crisis on Thursday afternoon but have not withdrawn.
If another coalition partner were to pull out, it could make her position untenable and could force an election, or an attempt by other parties to cobble together a new coalition.
Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut, leader of the opposition People’s Party, earlier called for Paetongtarn to dissolve parliament to prevent groups from exploiting the situation “and inciting an incident that could harm the democracy”, warning against a military coup.
Thailand’s government has been challenged by a dozen coups since the end of absolute monarchy in 1932, and for the past two decades the country’s politics has been dominated by a power struggle between the military and Paetongtarn’s family, the Shinawatras. Her father, Thaksin Shinawatra, was ousted in a 2006 coup, and her aunt Yingluck was removed from power by a court ruling followed by a coup in 2014.
Hundreds of anti-government protesters, some of them veterans of the royalist, anti-Thaksin “Yellow Shirt” movement of the late 2000s, demonstrated outside Government House on Thursday, demanding that Paetongtarn quit.
Ken Lohatepanont, a Thai political analyst, said that “while a coup is no longer completely unthinkable” it did not appear likely yet, adding: “The democratic process has not yet reached an impasse.”
Thailand’s military said in a statement that army chief Gen Pana Claewplodtook “affirms commitment to democratic principles and national sovereignty protection”.
“The Chief of Army emphasised that the paramount imperative is for ‘Thai people to stand united’ in collectively defending national sovereignty,” it said.
Paetongtarn, who has been in office less than a year, is also facing legal threats. At least three petitions have been filed against the leader over the leaked call, including to the National Anti-Corruption Commission, accusing her of ethical misconduct and violating the constitution, and to the Central Investigation Bureau, accusing her of offences against national security. The Election Commission has also been urged to investigate.
The crisis comes at a time when the Thai economy is struggling, with a fall in Chinese visitors hitting its tourism industry, and the threat of US tariffs of 36% looming.
Paetongtarn has not responded to calls for her to resign, but has sought to convince the public that her government stands united with the military as it responds to the dispute with Cambodia.
“Now, we have no time to fight among ourselves. We must defend our sovereignty, and the government is ready to support the armed forces by all means. We will work together,” she said.
On Friday, Paetongtarn will travel to Thailand’s northeast, where clashes have occurred, to meet with Lt Gen Boonsin Padklang, the commander of the forces in northeast Thailand, whom she criticised in the call.
With Agence France-Presse
