The ambition of the Thai Rak Thai Party to hold supreme, unchallenged power in the House was suddenly marred by the Court's order. The party stands to lose more if the Constitutional Court eventually rules that the April 2 general election and subsequent re-runs are void. That would disrupt many plans and hidden agendas of the party's hotshots as the caretaker government continues to lurch along like a lame duck without credibility or public trust.

The fate of inactive caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is still murky. A party member sent up a trial balloon during the weekend with the remark that given the sudden twist in the political situation, maybe the party leader should come back in an active capacity.

Thaksin's political hibernation is limited to his official role, and he pursues high-profile meetings abroad as a globetrotting national leader, having chummy talks and coffee sessions with heavyweights such as Messrs Tony Blair, Jacques Chirac and Vladimir Putin.

His claim was that he wanted to ensure that the political turbulence in Thailand had no strong negative impact on bilateral relations with those countries and that it was his prime responsibility to cement the already close ties.

This is so peculiar as to be hardly explicable. Thailand has had more than 16 failed and successful coups d'etat and a few blood-lettings without long-lasting harm to its overall stability and security, not to mention its bilateral relations with allies.

Was there in fact a hidden agenda behind all those visits? It is tempting to speculate so, based on the pending business arrangements between Thailand and those countries and related scandals over financial windfalls.

The brief chat with Blair in London, if it really took place as claimed, may have been intended as a curtain-raiser for more meaningful events when Thaksin was in France. There is the important but unfinished business of Thailand buying a new fleet of Airbus aircraft for Thai Airways International, the national carrier.

There is heated competition between Airbus and Boeing to secure a contract from Thailand. At no point have decisions on the purchase of aircraft been made solely by airline executives based on real commercial viability, but inevitably with the blessing of politicians in power, if not their cronies in or outside the airline's management structure.

The procurement of a huge fleet during the Thaksin government has enriched many key political cronies. What's more, there was also a crucial test of the overall competence of aircraft-manufacturers to win deals from the airline.

The national carrier is supposed to buy a new fleet of Airbus aircraft. Preliminary talks were held during Chirac's visit to Bangkok a few months ago. The chat over coffee in Paris may have included an assurance from Thailand that everything remained on track, though there could be a delay due to certain inconvenient and unexpected obstacles.

Such an assurance would put Airbus at ease but leave Boeing a mite anxious over the firm Thai commitment. Equally on the alert should be aircraft-engine manufacturers, who must have their own people with long-established connections on the inside track to fight for a deal. Losing means a long break until the next orders are planned.

If Boeing stands to lose out to Airbus on the aircraft order, then at least some business should fall into the hands of American firms, in the view of President Bush. That would mean ordering either General Electric or Pratt & Whitney engines instead of Rolls Royce to avoid complete European dominance in the supplies of both aircraft and engines.

Of course, with such hot competition, they must be extremely careful about possible allegations of shady arrangements such as kickbacks, as in the deal for the explosives-detecting devices for Suvarnabhumi International Airport.

What about coffee with Mr Putin in Moscow? Speculation is that a similar assurance about the Royal Thai Air Force's commitment to buying a fleet of SU-30 jet fighters was given here, despite a scandal over some political cronies standing to enjoy personal enrichment.

If Thaksin plays his high-stake business game, preferring European aircraft and engines, as well as Russian jet fighters, to American products, then he could get a cold shoulder instead of hot coffee the next time he wants to visit the White House.

Business talks over black tea with Chinese leaders and green tea with Japanese leaders should be more wide-ranging than in European cities. For politicians, international business deals not only yield lucrative results and forge closer ties but create long-term mutual benefits as well.

Sopon Onkgara