Thai PM faces legal challenges after averting coalition collapse
[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 National Anti-Corruption Commission's decision on Monday to launch a preliminary investigation against 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 prime minister committed corruption by willfully 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 Paetongtarn should be removed from office for ethical breaches. Ruangkrai Leekitwattana, a political activist, has also petitioned the Election Commission to investigate a leaked audio recording in which the prime minister appears critical of the army amid a simmering border standoff with Cambodia.
Thailand has seen several past leaders ousted either by court orders or through military coups. 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.
The 38-year-old 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, reducing its majority to about 255 seats in the 495-member parliament.
Paetongtarn is planning a cabinet revamp this week to reward smaller parties still supporting her government, while nominating an ex-general as 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 toward Thai assets, which are already under pressure from the prospect of the lowest economic growth since the 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
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