• 
• 

On Monday, the Constitution Court ruled 8-1 that the Samak government violated Article 190 of the Constitution by not submitting the Preah Vihear Temple communique to Parliament for approval. The communique, signed by Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama with his Cambodian counterpart, is considered a treaty. Any treaty must go through the parliamentary process.

Cambodia's success in having Preah Vihear inscribed as a World Heritage site has turned into Thailand's bitter defeat. It is a second defeat. In 1962, Thailand lost Preah Vihear - only the temple part and not the surrounding areas due to a tricky map drawn up by the French - to Cambodia in the International Court of Justice.

Noppadon's communique, with approval from the Samak Cabinet, amounts to giving a blank cheque for Cambodia to solely administer the temple. The further implication is that Cambodia will have more leverage in negotiating the disputed and overlapping area of more than 3,000 rai. The affair deals a blow to Samak at a time when he and other key members of the People Power Party are facing a series of legal battles that are shaping the political landscape in a big way.

The constitutional breach could lead to the impeachment of the entire Samak Cabinet by the Senate. But first, Noppadon must be sacrificed.

The Supreme Court also ruled that Yongyuth Tiyapairat, deputy leader of the People Power Party, was guilty of vote-buying. He immediately lost his MP status and will be barred from politics for five years. The Election Commission will do a follow-up. It will form a panel to investigate any link between Yongyuth's election fraud and People Power Party. If there is a link, the party will be dissolved. Could Thai Rak Thai die twice?

The idea of dissolving Parliament has scared all the coalition partners. Most partners, from Chart Thai to Matchima, have voiced their objection against an early election. Samak does not want to dissolve Parliament or leave office. He will only do so when he really has no way out. Now the coalition partners believe that at least the budget for fiscal 2009 must be approved by Parliament first. This matter is very important for the economy, otherwise government spending would grind to a halt. The budget debate is likely to end in August. Government spending is also a key factor in giving incumbent politicians hope of being re-elected.

At the moment, the coalition partners and members of the People Power Party will try to buy time. Noppadon will be sacrificed in this delaying tactic.