The crux of the issue is Thaksin Shinawatra. It's about the end of his legitimacy as the country's prime minister. It's about his blatant violation of political ethics. It's about how he has failed miserably in managing social conflicts. The last thread of trust between the governor and the governed has snapped.

Thaksin claims he dissolved the House of Representatives and called a snap election on April 2 to "return the power to the people." The truth is more frightening. He simply wanted to silence the growing number of people calling for his ouster and to come back for another four-year term.

Thaksin has become "the country's No 1 problem" because he would do anything to stay in power even if it means that in the process he will tear the nation apart. He has wrapped himself in a cocoon of delusion, arguing that 19 million people had voted for him in the last election and acting under the misguided notion that winning an election gives you the blanket right to commit any political crime and ignore any dissident opinion.

Thaksin's most serious political mistake was to confuse legality with legitimacy - putting self-interest above moral judgement. His legitimacy was lost forever when he ignored the ethical aspect of his family's sale of Shin Corp's shares to Singapore's Temasaek, defending the controversial sell-off of the country's major satellite and television stations only on legal grounds.

Even when every tax-paying citizen was questioning the dubious technicalities used to avoid paying a single baht of tax of the Bt73 billion deal, Thaksin was still out there provoking public anger with his deadpanned: "But I have done nothing wrong, legally anyway."

When the crowd calling for his ouster grew louder, instead of facing the challenge head-on, Thaksin dragged the whole country into a political quagmire by dissolving the House of Representatives, calling a snap election that will put him back in a more powerful position in the hope that he can use this electoral mandate to stop any call for his impeachment or for embarking on genuine political reform. This despite the fact that there was no real conflict between the executive and the legislative branches, usually the only legitimate reason to "return the power to the people."

Thaksin has become the country's real problem because with his latest political act, he has put the nation in a precarious position. He has forced people to go back to the polling booths, not to choose between his policies and those of the opposition - but to force the voters to make a very bizarre choice: Between him and what he arbitrarily labels "mob rule" - painting himself as the good, devoted politician being bothered by what he portrays as a group of law-breaking citizens, who happen to include some of the country's most respected academics, opinion-leaders, independent law-makers, a large segment of the middle-class, local community leaders, disgruntled teachers, members of the non-government organisations (NGOs) and the critical media.

Thaksin has become the country's biggest political liability because he no longer can claim the right to lead the nation's political reform despite his desperate attempt to exploit "political reform" to legitimise his further consolidation of power.

With the opposition parties

boycotting the snap election,

Thaksin is effectively isolated. The country has been plunged into a state of confusion that threatens to get worse if he stubbornly clings on to power.

When all is said and done, it's not the system that's the issue. It's not even the constitution that has caused the current political turmoil. It's Thaksin manipulating the system and exploiting the constitution that is the only cause of the ongoing political "impasse."

It wasn't that long ago that people were asking: "If not him, who?"

Now, the question on everybody's lips, it seems, is: "If he stays, everybody else will go down the drain."

The time has come for Thaksin to realise that he will serve the country best when he stops serving.

Suthichai Yoon

The Nation