Thailand political crisis: Phumtham becomes acting PM as Paetongtarn suspended in ethics probe
The Southeast Asian nation's top office was plunged into turmoil on Tuesday when the Constitutional Court suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra pending an ethics probe, which could take months.
Power passed to Transport Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit, who held the role for only one full day, as the bombshell ruling landed during an awkward interim before the reshuffle.
When former Defence Minister Phumtham Wechayachai is sworn into his new position as Interior Minister, he will also take on a deputy prime minister role outranking Suriya's — thus becoming the acting premier.
Before Paetongtarn was ousted, she had assigned herself the role of Culture Minister in the new cabinet, meaning she is set to retain a perch in the upper echelons of power.
The revolving door of leadership comes as the kingdom is battling to revive a faltering economy and secure a US trade deal to avert Donald Trump's looming threat of a 36 per cent tariff.
Phumtham is considered a loyal lieutenant to the suspended Paetongtarn and her father, Thaksin Shinawatra, the powerful patriarch of a dynasty that has dominated Thai politics in the 21st century.
Thaksin-linked parties have been jousting with the pro-military, pro-conservative establishment since the early 2000s, but analysts say the family's political brand is now in decline.
The 71-year-old Phumtham earned the nickname 'Big Comrade' for his association with a left-wing youth movement of the 1970s, but transitioned to politics through a role in Thaksin's telecoms empire.
In previous cabinets, he held the defence and commerce portfolios, and briefly served as acting prime minister after a crisis engulfed the top office last year.
Paetongtarn has been hobbled by a longstanding territorial dispute between Thailand and Cambodia, which flared into cross-border clashes in May, killing one Cambodian soldier.
When she made a diplomatic call to Cambodian ex-leader Hun Sen, she reportedly called him 'uncle' and referred to a Thai military commander as her 'opponent', according to a leaked recording that caused widespread backlash.
A conservative party later abandoned her ruling coalition — triggering the cabinet reshuffle — accusing her of kowtowing to Cambodia and undermining the military.
The Constitutional Court said there was 'sufficient cause to suspect' Paetongtarn breached ministerial ethics in the diplomatic row. — AFP
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