Samak Sundaravej and Thaksin Shinawatra. The First Prize for this season of love. Only my neighbour’s “best friend” has displayed equal “Master-and-me” loyalty. The way the former Bangkok governor put himself on the line and lashed out at the prime minister’s opponents is tear-jerking. It takes a really brave heart to pounce at Privy Council chairman General Prem Tinsulanonda for saying something as simple as, “national leaders need to be morally good”.

By the way, for those freedom of speech advocates eager to defend Samak, you may have missed a few things he said regarding articles or newspapers that criticise the government. And oh, when he had state power in the 1970s, he closed down news publications for fun.

Chamlong Srimuang and Thaksin Shinawatra. The former’s reluctance to take the latter on directly reminds us of the relationship between Dr Frankenstein and his monster. Where is that “Chamlong” who staged a hunger strike and led a bloody street demonstration against strongman Suchinda Kraprayoon in 1992? When I first saw his feeble request for Thaksin to give Bt20 billion of what he earned from the Temasek deal to charity, I thought an editorial error had swapped his quote with that of a young female student leader who had made an unconditional demand for Thaksin’s ousting. Well, at least Chamlong hasn’t gone missing completely. With virtually all other songs-for-life musicians joining the anti-Thaksin movement, Ad Carabao is very conspicuous by his absence.

Snoh Thienthong and Thaksin Shinawatra. Our “Kingmaker” is like Antonio Banderas in “Original Sin”, who can’t bring himself to kill Angelina Jolie despite what she did to him – which included an albeit-lame murder attempt. Snoh has admitted he was Thaksin’s “slave”, and he blamed the Constitution for it. That is a half-truth; he was his slave, but he has only himself to blame.

Thaksin Shinawatra and his children. Family love at a crossroads. They did everything to protect him, but whether or not it’s vice versa is the big question. Not only has the Shin Corp takeover controversy exposed the innocent kids to legal threats, the young Shinawatras are being “taught” business and political practices by their folks. How much they absorb and believe will shape their future.

Thaksin Shinawatra and the Revenue Department. An Indian movie “she teases, he chases” kind of love. You know, when the hero sings songs with the heroine and they play hide and seek across four mountains, and when he manages to grab her, he will let her loose again. This romantic, albeit pretentious cat-and-mouse pursuit can apply to Thaksin and the stock exchange authorities as well.

Sudarat Keyuraphan and Thaksin Shinawatra. You won’t find another woman who can speak so sincerely and enthusiastically of the leader. She’s the young protege of the disfigured musical genius in “The Phantom of the Opera”. And she will stay on the ship with him always, whatever happens.

 Thaksin Shinawatra and Sondhi Limthongkul. How a love so right turned out to be so wrong. Both sides are claiming they are at each other’s throat out of pure love for the motherland, but it looks more like Mr & Mrs Smith who wake up one day and start shooting at each other for apparently no good reason. We can’t help but wonder if, as Thaksin and Sondhi cross swords, one in fact sees himself in the other.

Thaksin Shinawatra and the Constitution Court. The judges “loved” him, and their 2001 acquittal that defied so many principles proved it. Like it or not, the 14 men may have a final say again on whether the PM will continue in office. If the court accepts a petition by 28 senators tomorrow against Thaksin’s constitutional legitimacy, it will be the ultimate test for the judges, testing their patriotism and conscience. An epic love story often ends where it started.

We will just have to wait and see.

Tulsathit Taptim