Thai PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra Dismissed for Ethics Violation

Thailand's Constitutional Court dismissed Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra from office for an ethics violation involving a leaked June phone call with Cambodia's former leader Hun Sen during a tense border conflict. Paetongtarn, the youngest prime minister and daughter of influential tycoon Thaksin Shinawatra, becomes the sixth premier from or backed by the Shinawatra family removed by military or judicial actions in two decades. The court ruled that although she was not found lacking in integrity, her remarks undermined the dignity of the premiership and the nation. The decision ends Paetongtarn's premiership prematurely after only a year in power, weakening her Pheu Thai party's fragile parliamentary majority and complicating the process of electing a new prime minister. This ruling highlights the ongoing power struggle between the Shinawatra political dynasty and a coalition of conservatives and royalist military leaders. Political negotiations are expected to intensify as Thaksin Shinawatra is likely to play a key role in attempts to maintain Pheu Thai's control in the coalition government.