Even though the interim government has now passed the one-third mark of its one-year term, political volatility remains high as if nothing has changed since the September 19 coup.

The legacy of the Thaksin Shinawatra regime still grips the nation like an incurable disease.

If the great Roman senator Cicero were alive, he would probably advise incumbent Thai leaders to try and win the crowd so as to pave the way for the country to move forward once again.

In politics, perception is everything and public sentiment is the key to getting things done - or undone - politically, he would say.

The prevailing sentiment is, however, so dire that foremost political scientist Chai-anan Samudvanija and eminent astrologer Pinyo Pongcharoen will join a panel discussion this week to predict what lies ahead in 2007.

Brain power is evidently not enough and Thai citizens will have to consult the heavenly bodies for a second opinion in order to get out of the political predicament.

Before the coup, the core issue was about the runaway power of a popular government that manipulated the system to serve and enrich vested interests.

Coup leader General Sonthi Boonyaratglin stumbled a couple of times in searching for the right word to depict the woes of our democracy under a popular leader in disguise. He finally came up with the term "capitalist dictator" to portray ousted premier Thaksin.

After the Thaksin regime became history, the core issue has turned to the uprooting of its tentacles of power. For the restoration of democratic rule, it is imperative to get rid of flaws that led to the collapse of the system of checks and balances.

When he was in power, Thaksin was seen as a menace to popular democracy. After he was toppled, his legacy has continued to haunt the nation like a ghost trying to hold on to the land of the living.

It is a paradox that the country appears to be mesmerised by Thaksin and his legacy even though it has already charted its future for the post-Thaksin era.

Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont has spelled out clearly his plans to steer the country back to the path of sustainable democratic rule.

The charter writing process is on track and the next general election should happen in a year. Thaksin and his minions are being investigated for alleged graft violations and abuse of power. They may be tried soon as a lesson for future politicians.

Populist policies, or what many prefer to call pro-poor measures, have been exposed as short-term gains that are detrimental to the economy in the long run. A new development model based on the theory of sufficiency has been offered as a wise alternative.

Authorities have explained at length that the social and economic benefits for rural people and workers remain intact and will increase in selected areas. For example, the Bt30 health-care scheme is now free of charge.

Successive opinion polls indicate the government has enjoyed a comfortable margin of approval rating for its development model to replace "Thaksinomics".

Rural people and workers still see Thaksin as their idol and at the same time they also support government moves to revise his populist policies.

Then why does the political situation remain volatile?

The precarious situation persists because the public sentiment has plunged. From urban workers to rural farmers, they have talked openly about perceived hardship in earning their livelihood in the wake of political uncertainty.

Thaksin's supporters have sensed the grim mood and tried to inflame the public alienation by reminding them of the so-called good old days.

The government, meanwhile, appears to remain aloof on its path of righteousness and has failed to relate to the people.

Something is seriously wrong as farmers from the Northeast organised a march for debt-relief when the government had already outpaced the previous administration in resolving farm debts.

If Surayud and his ministers are unable to bond with the people, they should recruit someone who can - to win the crowd on their behalf.

Avudh Panananda

The Nation

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Publicise your work: PM

All ministers need to do more to publicise their accomplishments as the government was still seen as failing to do enough, Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont said yesterday.

"Each minister should raise public awareness of their job performance because media reports still portray the government as underachieving," he told the weekly Cabinet meeting.

Most people had no idea what each ministry was doing, he said.

"Ministers must try to highlight their work and I just expect to keep the public informed in a straightforward manner and not exaggerated hype," he said.

PM's Office Minister Thirapat Serirangsan said he was drawing up a proactive publicity plan that could start as early as next week.

"The government will aim to communicate directly with the people," he said, while hinting that the blitz might include measures to neutralise subversive activities, known as "undercurrents".

The Nation