Thai Prime Minister Ousted from Office Over Leaked Phone Call

September 1st, 2025
Brogan Jones

Paetongtarn Shinawatra is many things. She is the daughter of Thaksin Shinawatra, Thailand’s 11th richest individual and two-time Prime Minister. She is the niece of Yingluck Shinawatra, Thailand’s first female Prime Minister. She is the latest member of the Shinawatra family—one of the most dominant and controversial political dynasties in Thailand's history. And, up until a few days ago, she was the Prime Minister of Thailand, the youngest ever to hold the position. That was until the Constitutional Court ruled—just a little over a year since her inauguration—that she had “seriously violated or failed to comply with ethical standards.” The reason? One leaked phone call.

It all started with border tensions. The Cambodian-Thailand border separates two countries that have had a tumultuous relationship for decades (See the Red Folder’s coverage of the conflict here). The relationship has deteriorated following the death of a Cambodian soldier in the disputed territory this May. In late July, an armed conflict erupted along the border, claiming dozens of lives and forcing nearly 300,000 people to flee from their homes. Between the two incidents, there was an attempt by both nations to quell the tensions. Several weeks before the July 23 armed conflict, a phone call between Prime Minister Shinawatra and former Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen was leaked to the public. In this phone call, Shinawatra referred to Hun Sen—Cambodia’s longest-serving head of government and father to current Cambodian PM Hun Manet—as “uncle.” She also referred to a Thai military general as an “opponent.” She insinuated that she would cave to Cambodian demands, stating that if Hun Sen “wants anything, just tell me, and I will take care of it.”

After the phone call was leaked online by none other than Hun Sen himself, Paetongtarn became the center of controversy. Already ignited by nationalism over the border tensions, Thai citizens responded with outrage. Paetongtarn responded, stating that her friendliness was a negotiation tactic aimed at de-escalating tensions. Following the Constitutional Court’s 6-3 ruling that removed her from the office of Prime Minister, Paetongtarn publicly accepted the decision, but remained steadfast in the fact that she had never meant to compromise Thailand’s national security or interests. Regardless of whether or not the former PM’s intentions were righteous, her removal will certainly spell instability and disarray for the Thai people. With no clear successor for the Prime Minister and a war for seats ongoing in Parliament, no political party is set to emerge with a distinct majority, leaving Thailand’s political future uncertain.

Paetongtarn’s experience is nothing new. In fact, it’s quite routine for Thai politics. The nation’s Constitutional Court is one of the most active and interventionist judiciaries in the world, with Paetongtarn being the fifth PM that it has removed from office. She isn’t even the first Shinawatra Prime Minister that the Court has given the boot. In 2014, the Court dismissed her aunt for alleged abuse of power. Paetongtarn’s uncle, Somchai Wongsawat, briefly served as Prime Minister in 2008 before the Court dismissed him as well. In fact, most of the removed Prime Ministers have had ties to Thaksin Shinawatra in one way or another. Though the powerful dynasty’s patriarch has managed to remain dominant over Thai politics for decades since being removed from power via a military coup in 2006, it seems that with their party likely to lose seats in a new election and no clear successor to take up the torch as PM, the Shinawatra dynasty’s influence over Thailand may finally have come to a close.

Extemp Analysis by: Brogan Jones

Question: What does Prime Minister Shinawatra’s dismissal mean for the future of Thailand’s politics?

AGD: I think you could go the funny route on this one and provide some sort of anecdote involving phone call/texting drama. You could also just tell any sort of story (real or made up) about something you said in private being found out. Something clever to tie in with the whole leaked phone call premise.

Background: Here, I would also talk about generally what politics are like in Thailand, especially making sure to bring up how the Constitutional Court typically operates, and how truly interventionist they are.

Answer/SOS: If I got this question, my answer would be that Shinawatra’s dismissal will mean three key things for the future of Thai politics:

1) Short-term instability

2) The end of the Shinawatra dynasty

3) Long-term stability

For the first point, I would talk about the difficult situation in Thailand’s parliament currently, and how chaos has been left in the wake of the Court’s most recent decision. There’s no clear person to take over for Shinawatra as PM, there’s no one party with clear support, etc. This means a lot of short-term instability, especially as the country continues to grapple with the Cambodian crisis while also having no strong leadership. For the second point, you’ll want to explain the decades-long dominance of the Shinawatra family over Thai politics. You’ll want to mention their immense wealth, how many Prime Ministers they’ve had from their family, their frequent clashes with the military and the Court, and other related information like that. Then, you’ll want to bring up how there’s no clear way forward for the family to continue their influence, with no clear successors to hold office and their party (Pheu Thai) dwindling in support. Finally, while the third point may seem out of left field, I would talk about just how damaging the Shinawatra family has been to politics in Thailand, and how without their influence being as prevalent, politics will get much better. The Court will remove less people from office and other parties may be allowed to flourish and rise to power.

All in all, there’s a lot of content and background to get through with this question, but as long as you don’t get too bogged down by specifics and fitting every single detail in, there’s a really strong narrative to be crafted here about how the Court’s decision may cause short-term instability, but the potential end to a corrupt family’s influence over the country’s politics could mean a much brighter future in the long-term.