Shortly after Pojaman's visit to Prem, some key coup-makers, such as ACM Chalit Pookphasuk, the air force chief, came out with a softer tone to suggest that Thaksin could return home after the lifting of martial law if he agrees to stay quiet and keep a low profile. However, the other day General Sonthi Boonyaratglin, the Army chief and the coup leader, warned if Thaksin were to fly home, his aircraft would not be allowed to land.

So what is going on? My take is that we are about to witness a political soap opera, which is unthinkable and unimaginable but which is a fact of life as far as this country is concerned.

Thaksin and his wife are equally good at making war and making peace, depending on the situation. His people and cronies are everywhere. Money politics still reigns supreme.

Khunying Pojaman's latest move looked as if it were an attempt to strike a political compromise, but in fact it was a clever move that put Prem on the defensive. For this episode gives out the underlying message that if anybody wants to get things done in this country, you have to go to Prem. More importantly, it implies Prem might have had a heavy hand in the September 19 coup that ousted Thaksin.

In Thailand, everything is possible. We have no permanent friends or foes. There is no black and white, no right and wrong, no good and evil. Everything is grey. Black and white, right and wrong and good and evil all co-exist in perfect harmony in the Thai system of virtual flexibility and compromise.

You should be able to recall that before the coup, Thaksin and his cronies went to war against Prem amid an unprecedented political divide. Without naming names, they implicitly branded Prem as a "charismatic person beyond the Constitution", who had tried to undermine the government. Prem kept cool during the tense episode. He went all over the place to deliver speeches on virtue, calling on the Thai people to pay respect to the good rather than the rich. Prem also wore his combat uniform when he visited the Army, Air Force and Navy to urge the new generation of military leaders to stay loyal to the monarchy.

The straw that broke the camel's back came shortly after the car bomb incident, allegedly a plot against the life of Thaksin. Thaksin's supporters went over to Prem's residence asking him to protect the life of the then prime minister. The way this mob was arranged could only be seen as an attempt to link Prem to the incident. One of Prem's supporters then blurted out, "We just can't allow this to go on."

A coup was inevitable to resolve the political polarisation. And it happened. The way the coup was staged was also typically Thai. There was no bloodshed. General Sonthi's camp confronted the generals who supported the Thaksin regime. The outcome of the battle was decided with only a few phone calls. Then, checkmate! After that, all the generals who supported the Thaksin regime took off their red scarves to wear yellow and join Sonthi in the coup against Thaksin.

Gen Sonthi outlined four key points as the reasons behind the coup. First, the country had been divided as never before and violence could happen. Second, there was widespread corruption. Third, independent institutions had been compromised to the extent that they could not perform their duties as entrusted by the Constitution. Finally, there were actions bordering on contempt of the monarchy.

Now, slightly more than a month after the coup, we can feel these four serious charges are beginning to wobble like jelly. Yes, the coup has put an end to the polarisation between the "Thaksin Fights On" and "Thaksin Get Out" camps, but it has created cracks everywhere among the allies, who had been instrumental in the ousting of Thaksin. If you take the NGOs and the other pro-democracy movements, not to mention Thaksin's grass-roots supporters, into account, Thailand is on the way to facing another political crisis during the drafting of a new constitution and the fresh election afterwards.

Gen Sonthi has also admitted that it is difficult to trace the assets of the politicians suspected of corruption. The Thaksin regime was good at policy corruption, which makes it difficult to hold it accountable in legal terms. When it comes to lese majeste, the story is the same. Gen Sonthi has also hinted that it is difficult to bring up the case of lese majeste against the Thaksin regime.

With this kind of political development, we can't laugh at ourselves and cry at the same time. It is a complete farce. We can only blame ourselves for being too Thai to get it right. We always get it damn wrong, and never learn to make it damn right.

Thanong Khanthong

The Nation