Thai PM faces growing calls to quit in Cambodia phone row

BANGKOK - Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra faced mounting calls to resign on June 19 after a leaked phone call she had with former Cambodian leader Hun Sen provoked widespread anger and a key coalition partner to quit.

The coalition government led by Ms Paetongtarn’s Pheu Thai party is on the brink of collapse, throwing the kingdom into a fresh round of political instability as it seeks to boost its spluttering economy and avoid US President Donald Trump’s swingeing trade tariffs.

The conservative Bhumjaithai party, Pheu Thai’s biggest partner, pulled out on June 18 saying Ms Paetongtarn’s conduct in the leaked call had wounded the country and the army’s dignity.

Losing Bhumjaithai’s 69 MPs leaves Ms Paetongtarn with barely enough votes to scrape a majority in parliament, and a snap election looks a clear possibility – barely two years after the last one in May 2023.

Two coalition parties, the United Thai Nation and Democrat Party, will hold urgent meetings to discuss the situation later on June 19.

Losing either would likely mean the end of Ms Paetongtarn’s government and either an election or a bid by other parties to stitch together a new coalition.

Resignation calls

The Palang Pracharath party, which led the government up to 2023 and is headed by General Prawit Wongsuwan – who supported a coup against Ms Paetongtarn’s aunt Yingluck – called for the premier to resign.

The party’s statement said the leaked recording showed Ms Paetongtarn was weak and inexperienced, and incapable of managing the country’s security.

“This already has proved that Thailand has a leader who will lead the country to a bad situation and weakness,” the statement said.

Another opposition party, Thai Sang Thai, also called for Ms Paethongtarn to step down, saying her conversation with Mr Hun Sen had damaged the