Thailand's Constitutional Court announced Friday the impeachment of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, accusing her of violating ethics rules after just one year in power. This decision further weakens the Shinawatra political dynasty, which has dominated for two decades but regularly clashes with the military and the courts.
At 37, Paetongtarn was the youngest prime minister in the country's history. She now becomes the sixth prime minister from or supported by the Shinawatra family to be ousted, confirming the long-running power struggle between the billionaire clan and Thailand's traditional elites.
The court criticized the leader for placing "private interests before those of the country" in a leaked phone call in June. In the exchange, she appeared to defer to former Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen at a time when the two countries were close to a border conflict. Fighting erupted a few weeks later, lasting five days.
This impeachment ushers in a new period of political uncertainty. Parliament must now elect a successor from among five potential candidates. But the Pheu Thai Party, led by Paetongtarn, emerges weakened by the verdict and may struggle to maintain an already fragile coalition, which relies on a razor-thin majority.
This new episode accentuates the chronic instability that has shaken Thailand for nearly twenty years, where the Shinawatra family alternates between electoral successes and judicial or military dismissals, against a backdrop of bitter rivalries between political factions and the kingdom's elites.
