BANGKOK: Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra (pic) is facing a barrage of legal complaints seeking her disqualification just days after taking office, renewing the risk of political uncertainty in the South-East Asian nation.
A clutch of political activists and rivals have filed about a dozen complaints with the Election Commission, the anti-graft agency and prosecutors, claiming that the 38-year-old leader was in breach of ethical standards and was under the influence of her father and former premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
The third member of the influential Shinawatra clan to occupy the top political office, Paetongtarn became Thailand’s youngest premier on Aug 16. While an ethical breach is grounds for disqualification under Thai laws, her Pheu Thai Party also faces dissolution for allegedly being under the influence of Thaksin, who is not a member of the group.
Ruangkrai Leekitwattana, a serial petitioner known for bringing complaints against political leaders, approached the anti-graft agency Tuesday seeking a probe into whether the prime minister violated ethical standards by encouraging her cabinet ministers to hold up their fingers in a "mini heart” shape while posing for an official photo-shoot last weekend.
While the latest instance appears frivolous and may be nothing more than a nuisance to Paetongtarn’s government, it underscores the kind of hurdles her administration faces just days into office.
The agency should investigate whether Paetongtarn’s pose while in official uniform had hurt the dignity of the prime minister’s job and eroded the faith and trust that the Thai people have in the leader, said Ruangkrai, a member of Palang Pracharath, a military-backed political party that Paetongtarn had removed from her ruling coalition.
Thailand is just recovering from a political upheaval following the dismissal of former leader Srettha Thavisin by the Constitutional Court, which found him guilty of an ethical violation as accused by a group of senators.
If any of the petitions reach the courts, Paetongtarn faces the risk of being removed from office or even be banned from politics for life. The petitions could also lead to the dissolution of her Pheu Thai Party and other political groups in the ruling coalition.
Paetongtarn has downplayed the challenges and instead vowed to focus on the immediate challenge of reviving South-East Asia’s second-largest economy that’s stifled by near-record household debt and high cost of living. She’s set to pledge a sweeping debt restructuring to tackle the household debt pile, offer financial assistance to small businesses and accelerate fiscal stimulus to lift growth later this week.
"I’ll handle the legal challenges to the best of my abilities,” Paetongtarn told reporters last week.
"Please have some sympathy for me and not file too many complaints.”
Paetongtarn may not need to worry about the influx of complaints just yet but should remain cautious, as some petitioners appear politically motivated and have links to Palang Pracharath Party, said Stithorn Thananithichot, director of the Office of Innovation for Democracy at King Prajadhipok’s Institute in Bangkok.
"The number of petitions is clearly overblown and shows it’s not really about check and balance, but more about retaliation after being excluded from the government,” Stithorn said.
"It’s only a nuisance for the government at this stage. We’ll have to wait and see if things will take a bad turn.” - Bloomberg
