This is what was described recently by Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva as the "Thaksin system", or "Thaksinocracy" as others have termed it and which has effectively been in force for the past five years.

Abhisit's description of Thaksinocracy may be a bit extreme. It conjures up science-fiction images of societies in which every single individual - through faith or fear - accepts everything laid down by totalitarian leaders, and no one would ever dare attempt to rebel. But this is the type of society that we have more or less evolved into, thanks to Thaksin, so it's worth taking a look at what Thaksinocracy is all about.

To his supporters, Thaksinocracy is the flip side of "Thaksinomics". They say Thaksin never intended to create a system for serving only his own interests. But his opponents fear the overwhelming popularity that comes with Thaksin's slogan: "New thinking, new methods".

In 1998, shortly after the economic crisis began the year before, Thaksin founded a new party to challenge the Democrats, who stood accused of sticking to the International Monetary Fund's bitter-pill prescription. He rode a wave of nationalist sentiment to capture the votes of conservatives and the rural poor. His party was named after a government initiative that encouraged citizens to use Thai products, in an attempt to correct the foreign deficit.

Thaksin launched his Thaksinomics platform by promoting exports and domestic consumption on the one hand, while introducing the first of his populist policies on the other. It's difficult to calculate the precise economic benefits gained from this dual-track policy, but Thaksin's populist campaign energised voters like nothing that was ever seen before.

Some academics, however, describe Thaksinocracy in terms of a successful reaching out to the rural poor. These hapless citizens had never enjoyed any tangible benefits from democracy, and suddenly Thaksinocracy promised instant material gain. Assoc Prof Pasuk Phongpaichit of Chulalongkorn University said Thaksin's strong popularity among and support from the masses gave him a mandate to perfect his system. He has regularly bypassed parliamentary procedures, previously an essential element of Thai democracy, with the simple message, "Don't worry. I've got 19 million votes behind me."

Thaksin created a new coalition by abolishing the old web of political networks. In the past, prime ministers would communicate with the voters through middlemen, most of whom were local influential figures whose clout enabled some to become leaders in their own right of different factions within the party.

These influential figures would promise their constituents such modern benefits as roads. But Thaksin ended all of this by going directly to the people himself, making promises that struck a chord with every rural voter in the country, such as farmers' debt relief and the Bt1-million village-fund scheme.

Ammar Siamwalla, an honorary adviser to the Thailand Development Research Institute, says Thaksin may have needed a little help from the old factions during his first term. But in his second term, he found himself able to connect directly with the voters. And he never stopped to think twice before ditching any rebellious faction. Just look at what happened to Snoh Thienthong.

Thaksin used the same tactic when he opened Government House to foreign investors, inviting them to participate in the Bt1.7-trillion mega-projects. Vongthip Chumpani, an adviser to the Senate Committee on Foreign affairs, said Thaksin wanted to send a clear message to foreign investors that he was in charge, not the bureaucrats.

And Thaksin has not given hand-outs only to rural voters. Big corporations and stock traders have also felt quite content under his system, because he has been the prime minister most obsessed with economic figures, even when reality contradicted what was written down on paper.

Thaksinocracy has worked to maximum benefit when galvanising citizens to cast their ballots. Former Mahachon Party leader Anek Laothamatas calls Thaksin's recent decision to dissolve the House an attempt to reassert his power during these difficult times. He says Thaksin expects there to be a high turnout that will silence those critics who have raised ethical questions against his family's tax-free sale of their Shin Corp empire.

The benefits to some voters of Thaksinocracy are such that they take any criticism against Thaksin personally, while his critics are largely sidelined. Never before could you see taxi drivers dropping off passengers of different political hue with the admonishment that the prime minister's debt-relief scheme is comparable to the end of slavery. Society has become completely polarised into pro- and anti-Thaksin camps, with the anti-Thaksin people forced out of the system - or onto the streets.

But don't blame Thaksin alone if you are unhappy with his system. Most Thais bear some responsibility for creating and sustaining it these past five years. After all, Thaksin's success did not result from some new political theory. Thaksinocracy is just old-fashioned patronage rebranded.

Jeerawat Na Thalang