Thai Govt Faces Political Collapse After Leaked Phone Call Scandal

Crisis has shaken trust in PM, soured public sentiment over her leadership, say analysts

- Philip Wen

BANGKOK - Thailand's government teetered on the brink of collapse after a leaked audio recording of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra criticising the country's military provoked the withdrawal of support from a key party in her ruling coalition, amid growing calls for her resignation.

The exit of the conservative Bhumjaithai Party, which holds 69 seats in the 500-member lower house, leaves the Pheu Thai Party-led government controlling just 261 seats in Parliament, as more parties in the coalition held urgent meetings on June 19 to decide whether to join the exodus.

Any further defections could tip the Paetongtarn administration into minority government, and some political analysts have already written her position off as untenable.

Ms Paetongtarn appeared to dig in during a hastily convened press conference on June 19, where she issued a public apology and urged the Thai people to unite in the face of what she described as a "threat to national security", after her phone conversation with Cambodian Senate president Hun Sen on June 15 surfaced online.

In the 17-minute call, which was uploaded to Mr Hun's Facebook page on June 18, Ms Paetongtarn is heard urging the former Cambodian leader to help resolve a renewed outbreak of border tensions between the two South-east Asian nations that she said was proving damaging to her government.

Addressing Mr Hun Sen, the father of current Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, as "uncle", she appeared to blame the Thai army for inflaming tensions and referred to them as "the opposite side".

She also urged Mr Hun Sen to ignore comments from a firebrand Thai general whom she said merely wanted to "appear cool". She said later that her words were merely part of a "negotiation tactic".