It's beautiful because it's a confrontation with a human face. The protesters have vowed to keep the "Thaksin must go" campaign peaceful. And that promise has so far been strictly abided by. It's a civil sort of face-off because PM Thaksin Shinawatra for his part has so far not resorted to any direct crackdown measures. He certainly realises how dangerous any attempt to employ force on the demonstrators might be for his own political survival.

Demonstrations have also been characterised by a highly civilised tone because the police have behaved in a most courteous way towards the anti-Thaksin elements. The law-enforcement officials have mingled with the protesting crowd unarmed, an unusual and pleasant sight indeed.

And Thailand may be setting a new precedent in the world's civil disobedience movement with the announcement by the armed forces that they will remain "neutral" in this confrontation between Thaksin and his opponents. Don't ask me how that stance is acceptable to Thaksin when he, as prime minister, is supposed to be every soldier's boss. Don't ask me why the Army chief General Sonthi Boonyaratklin, who should be telling the premier that he is on his side, was quoted as saying that if he had to choose, he would be inclined towards "defending the people's rights" instead of protecting the politicians' power base.

Making this political impasse even more sublime was Sonthi's public statement that he saw no need for an emergency decree in Bangkok. And he said that almost immediately after Thaksin had declared in a speech in the Northeast on Tuesday that he was ready to sign an order to place Bangkok under a state of emergency.

To me, it's also a perfect stalemate because if you read between the lines of all these public utterances and gesticulations, you wouldn't be too far off to conclude that Thaksin has virtually lost the political prop of the armed forces and police. If he gets the subtle message, Thaksin should now realise that if he decides to crack down on the protesters surrounding Government House seeking his prompt departure, he would face the armed forces and law-enforcement officials' unprecedented failure to comply. A state of emergency decree signed by the premier would be rendered meaningless if military officers, in their own very polite, subtle way, practise their own version of civil disobedience too.

The stalemate has been made even more intriguing after all TV stations aired the 1992 footage of His Majesty the King's audience granted to then-premier Suchinda Kraprayoon and protest leader Chamlong Srimuang, which ended the "Black May" bloody demonstrations that were calling for the general to step down. If this was a response to the series of petitions seeking royal intervention to end the ongoing turmoil, it will be interesting to see whether the move helps contribute to - or break - this beautiful stalemate.

But a stalemate is still a stalemate, no matter how perfect or beautiful it is. This highly educational and instructive phenomenon may create a new chapter in history. If allowed to drag on for the proper period of time, it may even provide a golden opportunity for Thais to learn about political maturity and the rare art of the win-win compromise.

Unfortunately, no stalemate can last forever without threatening to bring about a disastrous end. And the Thai people aren't particularly known for possessing a high degree of political tolerance.

All sides in this conflict are playing a game of pretences designed to outlast the other side's patience. The protesters say they will continue the sit-in in front of the Government House for as long as necessary - until Thaksin steps down. They are waiting for intervention of some kind, either from the Palace, the armed forces or even a third party to break the stalemate.

Thaksin, on the other hand, has fled the scene, running a sort of a government-in-exile from the Northeast, where he feels more secure surrounded by large cheering crowds organised by his own underlings. Of course, he knows it's surreal. But again, his connection with reality has for all practical purposes deserted him already.

He is pretending that he can wait out the crowd in Bangkok by acting normal while everybody in the country knows everything around him is, at best, abnormal. His mood alternates between extreme confidence and deep depression, not unlike those under the psychedelic influence of hallucinatory drugs. That's why he called protest leaders Sondhi Limthongkul and Chamlong Srimuang "friend" and "elder brother" respectively one day, and labelled them "mob-rule leaders" and "troublemakers" the next.

Thaksin isn't quite sure how to break this deadlock. But the fear of losing power and being subjected to a tortuous investigation by a public tribunal probing his family's wealth has forced him into a dead end. His obvious strategy is to bluff his way through the growing protest, hoping to gain a great mandate in the April 2 election.

But that's where the plot thickens and the beautiful stalemate deepens. Due to the boycott by the opposition parties, the election scheduled for April 2 promises to be a huge political mess. The National Election Commission has already disqualified a large number of candidates fielded by small parties, which miraculously sprang up after the Democrats, Chat Thai and Mahachon parties decided to stay away on the grounds that Thaksin has called this snap election to launder his own political crimes.

As a result of this foul-up, clearly linked to Thaksin's own manipulations, the upcoming election, if it takes place at all, will not produce the legally required 500 MPs. A constitutional crisis will ensue since without the required number of people's representatives in the House, the lower legislative body can't convene to pick a new prime minister. The whole country will then be plunged into another self-inflicted crisis. Like it or not, the beautiful stalemate would then definitely be upgraded into a perfect stalemate.

Like all stalemates, of course, there is always a possibility for a breakthrough - if only the parties concerned are sincere and determined to get out of their desperate straits. Believe it or not, when all is said and done, the concerned parties will likely tend towards the only practical and acceptable compromise.

First, let's rule out some of the fast track solutions being sought by some concerned parties. Royal intervention to name an interim prime minister under Article 7 of the Constitution appears to be too controversial and would perhaps set a bad precedent for the future.

Intervention by the military, even a light version, should also be ruled out, even though it's obvious that the military establishment has already made it clear that it will not be used by Thaksin as a political tool to maintain his rule. But any direct military role in breaking the current political impasse would send the wrong message to the Thai public and the world at large. Tearing up the Constitution, no matter how flawed it is, just isn't an option.

The only viable path - a win-win for all sides that would not tarnish the Royal institution and keeping the military establishment out of any direct political intervention - is what I would call the "one step back; two steps forward" solution. It works this way:

Thaksin gives up his role as acting premier overseeing the upcoming election. He names Somkid Jatusripitak, the civilian deputy premier with an arguably flawless record in politics, to work on his behalf. Thaksin also announces that he won't seek the premiership after the election regardless of the poll results. With that, Thaksin can claim victory, saying that he has kept his pledge to push for political reform without exploiting his influence in the process.

The next announcement comes from the People's Alliance for Democracy, in which they call off their anti-Thaksin campaign. They could claim victory as well, pointing out that their mission to set the country on the path of political renewal had been accomplished.

The next immediate step would be for the government to seek the National Election Commission's agreement to postpone the election date until after the senatorial polls on April 19. The opposition parties then agree to take part in the election.

The government to be formed after the election would be a "grand coalition" with the main objective being to amend the current Constitution, with broad-based participation from various walks of life, and to embark upon the mission of a historic Second Political Reform.

A definite time frame is agreed upon by all parties concerned for constitutional revisions. Once a new supreme set of rules and regulations are passed by the post-election legislative and executive branches in a process open to active public participation, a new election is called. Thaksin can then decide whether he still wants to run in that election.

The people then decide whom they want to elect as the new government. And, of course, all political parties have to tell the people how they intend to put the country back on track as a more effective, less corrupt, more transparent, less decadent society.

With this least unacceptable solution in place, and all concerned parties taking great care during every step of the implementation process, the frightful but beautiful stalemate can become a valuable lesson of the past that hopefully won't return to haunt us in the future.

Suthichai Yoon