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Published on August 26, 2007

Samak wasted no time and left no doubt in peoples' minds when he declared that he would serve as a "political nominee" for Thaksin Shinawatra, now seeking exile in London and branded a fugitive criminal with at least two arrest warrants issued by the Criminal Court.

Samak in politics is everything but harmonious and courteous. His mouth serves as his most fearsome weapon, though at times self-destructive - as seen from the decline and eventual demise of his Prachakorn Thai Party.

The way he displayed his confrontational political style amidst thunderous applause from party members, Samak was back to his original form - combative, abrasive and spoiling for any kind of a fight.

"You hit me, and I hit back. It will be just like that," he declared.

Samak's words represented a complete disregard for more than 10 hours spent by the Constitution Tribunal in describing how Thaksin, his family members and cronies had inflicted severe damage on the country through various means such as massive corruption, abuse of power and other misdeeds.

In a nutshell, Samak is ready and willing to serve the accused, who he considers a victim of a coup and undemocratic process. The 72-year-old veteran must have forgotten that back in 1976 he was a shining star in a regime serving as a product of a coup as well.

What he intends to achieve can foretell what is to come - before or after the general elections expected late this year: political turbulence if not violence arising from confrontation and power play.

As a tough fighter, Samak does not care much about the ways and means he chooses to win over opponents. His long years in gutter politics, including the period of horror and terror, serve as a strong testimony to this.

His re-emergence proves again that in politics there is life after death. It must have been a very seductive offer from the fugitive criminal in London to draw Samak out of his twilight and down time to try another comeback, this time armed with a huge war chest.

Samak would love to fight with big money, as a man with nothing to lose. It serves many purposes. His combative style can draw the bad light away from Thaksin, while showing that he, Samak, is not washed up or can be counted out.

It would not be far off the mark to say that Thaksin and his cronies will dump billions of baht for Samak and the People Power Party to win the upcoming election. The large campaign funds will be just small change compared with the massive assets Thaksin owns, frozen here or stashed abroad.

Yet Samak still faces formidable obstacles to political grandeur. He is waiting for the judgement of the Appeals Court after receiving a two-year jail term, without suspended sentence, in a libel case filed by a former deputy governor of Bangkok.

He has been engulfed by scandals related to the expensive procurement of fire-fighting vehicles and suspected corruption in a garbage-disposal project. These charges could derail his plan to serve as Thaksin's nominee in political victory and settling of scores.

His strong weapon, his oratorical skills and combative style, are also a weak point. Samak is not a man who wants a compromise, unless he is put in a tight spot or faces the risk of jail terms. He has escaped possible imprisonment through pleas and charm to soften the hearts of his plaintiffs.

But certainly not this time, if the Appeals Court upholds the ruling, because the plaintiff is affiliated with the Democrat Party, his arch-rival, if not permanent enemy.

Our politics from now on will not be far away from the gutter, surely more colourful and dreadful, with promise of turbulence and money dumping. Ex-Thai Rak Thai Party members, now split into many groups as unbranded nominees of Thaksin, can regroup to reclaim power.

This is not sheer pessimism. The lack of a stable political situation before or after the election will be due mainly to the unfinished business, or unfulfilled missions, on the part of the coup-makers and the Surayud government.

The failure to carry out political reforms and national restructuring to lay down the proper groundwork for reconstruction of democracy underscores the belief that we are still far from political maturity.

If big money prevails, preceding instability, then rumours of a coup and scenes of troops and battle tanks on the city streets are always a distinct possibility.

Sopon Onkgara