BANGKOK: The second biggest party in Thailand’s ruling coalition pulled out on Wednesday over a leaked phone call between Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and former Cambodian leader Hun Sen, putting her government on the brink of collapse.

The conservative Bhumjaithai party said “the country, people and army lost dignity” because of Paetongtarn’s conduct in the call about a festering border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia.

The loss of Bhumjaithai’s 69 active members of parliament leaves the coalition led by Paetongtarn’s Pheu Thai party with barely enough votes for a majority. If any other coalition partner pulls out, it could put the kingdom on course for a general election — scarcely two years since the last one in May 2023. Bhumjaithai said in a statement announcing its withdrawal that the leaked phone call had “damaged the sovereignty and well-being of the country and Thai Army”.

“Bhumjaithai party calls on Paetongtarn to show responsibility for her actions that have made the country people and army lose dignity,” the statement said. Paetongtarn, 38, came to power in August 2024 at the head of an awkward coalition between Pheu Thai and a group of conservative, pro-military parties whose members have spent much of the last 20 years battling against her father, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Published in Dawn, June 19th, 2025