Big blow for Thailand's PM as major party exits coalition

FILE PHOTO: Anutin Charnvirakul, Bhumjaithai Party's leader, arrives before the draw for the party's list usage for the election in Bangkok, Thailand, April 4, 2023. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha/File Photo

BANGKOK (Reuters) -Thailand's Bhumjaithai Party on Wednesday withdrew from Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra's government in a major blow to the embattled premier, leaving her ruling coalition with only a slim majority.

The party, the second largest in the alliance and holder of 69 house seats, said its departure was due to the impact on the nation of a leak on Wednesday of a phone call between Paetongtarn and Hun Sen, the influential former premier of Cambodia, with which Thailand is involved in an escalating border dispute.