Thailand’s Constitutional Court dismissed Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra from office on Friday, August 29, 2025, citing an ethics violation, delivering a severe blow to the influential Shinawatra political dynasty.
Paetongtarn, Thailand’s youngest prime minister at 39, becomes the sixth premier linked to the billionaire Shinawatra family to be removed by military or judicial intervention, intensifying a decades-long power struggle among the nation’s elites.
The court’s ruling stemmed from a leaked June 2024 telephone call in which Paetongtarn appeared to defer excessively to Cambodia’s former leader Hun Sen amid rising tensions that nearly escalated into an armed border conflict. Weeks later, a five-day clash erupted between the two nations. Paetongtarn apologized for the call, stating her intent was to avert war.
The decision paves the way for Thailand’s parliament to elect a new prime minister, a process that could prove protracted as Paetongtarn’s ruling Pheu Thai party grapples with diminished bargaining power and a fragile coalition holding a slim majority. Paetongtarn, daughter and protégé of tycoon Thaksin Shinawatra, assumed office following the unexpected dismissal of her predecessor, Srettha Thavisin, by the same court in 2024. Her brief tenure ends as the fifth premiership in 17 years to be terminated by the Constitutional Court, underscoring its pivotal role in Thailand’s ongoing conflict between elected governments and a powerful conservative-royalist establishment.
Uncertain Path Forward
With Paetongtarn’s ouster, attention turns to her successor. Thaksin is expected to spearhead negotiations to maintain Pheu Thai’s leadership of the coalition. Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai and the current cabinet will serve in a caretaker capacity until parliament selects a new leader, with no fixed timeline for the process.
Eligible candidates include Chaikasem Nitisiri, a 77-year-old former attorney-general and the sole Pheu Thai contender, who has maintained a low political profile. Other potential candidates are former Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, who led a 2014 military coup against a Pheu Thai government but has since retired from politics, and Anutin Charnvirakul, a former deputy prime minister whose party withdrew from Paetongtarn’s coalition following the leaked call controversy.
The ruling plunges Thailand into further political uncertainty amid public frustration over stalled reforms and an economy projected to grow by only 2.3% this year, according to the central bank. Any new Pheu Thai-led coalition is likely to command a narrow majority, facing frequent challenges from a popular opposition pushing for an early election.
“Appointing a new prime minister will be challenging and could take considerable time,” said Stithorn Thananithichot, a political scientist at Chulalongkorn University. “Aligning the interests of all parties is no easy task, and Pheu Thai faces a significant disadvantage.”
