The people have been told the coup was inevitable. So, let's review the four main objectives behind it. First, the Thaksin government had run the country into the ground with political polarisation and the threat of violence. Second, there was widespread corruption. Third, independent institutions had been messed around so badly they could no longer function as expected under the 1997 Constitution. Fourth, there had been action that bordered on lese majeste.

So far the government has done nothing to address these charges lodged against the previous administration. The other day, Chuan Leekpai, a former PM, criticised the new government and the Council for National Security for their do-nothing attitude. Over the past month, the new government and the CNS, which staged the coup, have missed the opportunity to inform the public about progress they have made in ridding the country of the last vestiges of the Thaksin regime. Chuan said the government and the CNS have wasted the month by not telling the people the reason why Thaksin had to be ousted. As Thaksin still commands loyalty in the countryside, the coup might not have changed the opinions of those supporters.

What we are witnessing now is the government operating almost in a vacuum, not knowing its priorities and not knowing what to do next. Instead of using the anti-money laundering office to freeze the assets of the politicians suspected of enriching themselves, the government is allowing these politicians time to transfer their assets at their own convenience. It has the law on its side, but it does not know how to use it. Freezing the assets does not violate the law. The politicians can always get their assets back if they provide proper evidence that they were earned in an honest fashion.

Meanwhile, key members of Thai Rak Thai have been able to move about freely to plot their political comeback. Some of them have also openly criticised the new government or the CNS. And that is making people wonder what they are up to. If they are really as bad as the CNS suggested in its coup statement, why are they still allowed to move about happy and fancy-free? Thaksin, who is now in London, is also looking forward to returning home when the opportunity arises.

The corruption charges look as if they are easy to bring up in the local media but extremely difficult to put into the judicial system. Over the past month, we have heard several corruption charges are in the pipeline involving the CTX scandal and Klong Dan, the Smart Card, e-passports and various other Suvarnabhumi Airport projects, yet no formal charges have been forwarded by the asset examiners.

It is true that after the coup the polarisation caused by the Thaksin regime was put to an end quickly. But there is a new set of political complications. Non-government organisations, academics with a leaning to the Thaksin regime and ordinary people are taking a wait-and-see attitude. They can stage political rallies once martial law is lifted. The People's Alliance for Democracy is also waiting in the wings. Since it succeeded in bringing down the Thaksin regime, it has become a new political animal and is now waiting for a fresh target to go after. On the political scene, we aren't sure who is serving who. But the vote for Meechai Ruchuphan as president of the National Legislative Council signals that a power struggle is about to begin.

Then, when can we expect to see some lese majeste charges brought against certain members of the Thaksin regime? Again, this question, which was one of the key reasons for the coup, has not been addressed. There were several incidents of lese majeste committed in the previous administration, but nobody seems to be willing to take up some of the cases for prosecution.

We can only conclude the effort to stage a military coup to usurp power is a lot less strenuous than the job of running the country and maintaining power. The Surayud government must sit down to think hard about its priorities and then work on them. Time is running out.