Amid the uncertainty of cabinet reshuffling and the backlash from a leaked recording of a phone call between Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and Cambodian Senate President Hun Sen, it appears that Paetongtarn’s government now stands at a crossroads.

The Phalang Pracharat Party (PPRP) appears to have broken into two factions after party leader Gen Prawit Wongsuwan said that Thamanat Prompao, the Party’s Secretary-General and Caretaker Agriculture Minister, will not be given a seat in the cabinet of new Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra. Thamanat subsequently threatened to leave the party and to take a number of MPs with him.

<p>The new cabinet list has been published in the Royal Gazette, with technocrats taking the Energy and Finance ministries, and Labour and the PM&rsquo;s Office going to the Palang Pracharat Party (PPRP) network.&nbsp;</p>

<p>A long speculated cabinet reshuffle may soon come to pass as 3 ministers, a deputy PM and a deputy secretary-general submitted their resignations on 16 July. Many touted replacements for the government economic team are from business or technocratic backgrounds.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Signs of a cabinet reshuffle show an attempt by the establishment to solve disputes within the government coalition. Facing a crisis of legitimacy, they also want to buy time.</p>