But the rural and urban poor are still rather happy with his hand-outs, in the form of populist policies such as the cheap universal healthcare and Bt1-million village funds, and couldn't care less about the improprieties alleged by the educated urbanites say.

Both sides apparently have persuasive arguments to back up their respective stances in this political crisis.

The typical well-educated urban middle-class member will tell the rural poor: I feel very ashamed that in this beloved country of ours the majority of the population, like you, still accepts bribes and patronage populist programmes from corrupt politicians. What can we do to persuade people like you, the rural and urban poor, to make you folks realise that an honest and ethical prime minister is crucial to the international respectability of Thailand and its good image?

Please do not behave like slaves and allow corrupt politicians to exploit you and buy you out. We want to create a true democratic society, free of corrupt and self-serving politicians.

I hope people like you will try harder to become better informed citizens and see corrupt politicians for what they really are. Don't watch too much television; it's controlled by the government and full of propaganda. Please try to read some quality or independent newspapers instead.

When you folks, who constitute two thirds of the population, see the light of day and do not vote for him and his party anymore, we believe Thailand will become a much cleaner society. I and my fellow urban friends hope the points raised in this letter are clear and not beyond your grasp.

Let us join hands together and sacrifice personal interests in order to rid the country of this corrupt regime once and for all. Please don't vote for him ever again.

Yours truly,

Urban elite

Written at Government House, where we have surrounded the prime minister's office.

An unusually articulate poor farmer from the Northeast would likely reply: Thank you for your candid assessment of the situation and the condition of my fellow country folk.

I along with other rural people may not be able to grasp the complexity of PM Thaksin's alleged corruption, but the bottom line is that it is quite irrelevant to us.

It is strange that all of a sudden we have received such a letter from you. Normally we do not feature high on your list of priorities except as migrant factory workers in Bangkok whom you don't want to see strike, obedient security guards for your offices and homes, prostitutes for your pleasure, or as picture-perfect farmers with the backdrop of green paddy fields on the postcards that help attract foreign tourists.

It's surprising that you even bother to write to us folks at all, especially after all these days, if not decades, of indifference and neglect, with the high hope that we will help you oust His Excellency the prime minister and support yet another round of political reform, whatever that means.

To be honest, we have some inkling that the leader is corrupt, but all governments are, to a greater or lesser extent - or to a more or less obvious level. None of them has ever really paid any attention to us rural poor, that is until His Excellency the prime minister came to power. Mind you, a lot of people like you also voted for him, didn't you?

You may say he's not sincere and his freebies such as the Bt30-medical scheme are not sustainable in the long run, or that the village fund puts people into greater debt, but surely this is better than having nothing, or better than the neglect and indifference that we experienced in the past. Thaksin was the first Thai PM to have camped overnight (a few nights, to be exact) with us and make us feel special. Even if it was a show at least we had the ringside seats.

People like you say Thai society is now deeply divided about Thaksin. The truth is, this country has always been divided - the rich and poor, the educated and those with less access to education, lead lives as if they're living in two totally different societies. You say his freebies and populist policies are nothing but a new form of the patronage system.

But what are we to say when we see you urban folks on TV waving yellow royal flags and calling for a royally-appointed prime minister instead of an elected one?

In the end, there's something strangely addictive and empowering about us rural folks having a greater if not a final say on who becomes a prime minister.

All our lives we're used to having to follow your every whim as you are the pedantic factory boss, the demanding taxi passenger, the choosy consumers, the spoiled tourists and so on. However, for once in our lives, on election day, we feel strangely empowered.

By the way, why do you urban folks always think you know what is better for us and this society?

Give us a break and let us decide for ourselves who we want as a prime minister of this country, will you?

Yours sincerely,

Rural folks

From At Samat district of Roi Et province.

Pravit Rojanaphruk

The Nation