This time it will be right in front of Government House on July 14, the birthday of the Thai Rak Thai Party. Whether the protest will be a massive one with tens of thousands of people gathered or just a small crowd depends on the degree of political sentiment.

The resumption of protests was inspired by a number of factors, mainly the unsettling political impasse caused by the dogged refusal of caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to step down from politics and the Election Commission's mishandling of elections and its own shattered credibility.

Of course, the latest heat came from Thaksin's negative comments last week about what he described as "elements with immense power beyond the power of the Constitution" being responsible for his own political predicament.

Thaksin's broken promise to retreat from politics and his decision to resume his Saturday-morning radio chats also angered people who regard him as a leader with character and image problems, not to mention the chronic failure to deal with rampant corruption within the administration.

His attempt to up the ante and regain power through the acid comments towards the "elements with clout" has convinced the public that Thaksin is willing to go to any lengths to preserve his power and his system riddled with corruption, cronyism and abuse of power, among other misdeeds.

Thaksin's critics and adversaries have resigned themselves to the fact that logic and good sense will not be enough to convince the embattled billionaire that it's time for him to step down after the massive damage done to the country's political, economic and social structure, as well as morality, during his thinly veiled authoritarian rule.

Of late his erratic struggle to preserve power and self-interest has gone beyond good sense and normal behaviour, far more so in regard to the need to uphold national interest and pride. It is against protocol and decency.

His alleged "personal letter" to President George W Bush lamenting his being sandbagged by "elements with clout" revealed by his critics at the weekend, was seen as an undignified and desperate attempt to blame others for all the problems and never admit his own mistakes and failures.

Thaksin and his cronies have yet to deny the existence of such a letter to President Bush. but it is known of in diplomatic circles, prompting discreet enquiries among people who know the goings-on on the inside.

There is also the unseemly and unbecoming behaviour during the time Thaksin took leave of absence following strong pressure for him to resign. It was a self-imposed absence but also a means to avoid a sudden loss of power, allowing him to get away from the heat and return when the time was right.

Ambassadors from powerful nations were asked to meet Thaksin at the Thai Rak Thai headquarters one by one. This was clearly against protocol, because diplomats are not supposed to go to the headquarters of political parties. At that time, Thaksin did not have any official duty. His status was also dubious in terms of validity and legality.

According to diplomatic insiders, Thaksin asked each of the visitors a similar question: "Would it be acceptable to your government if Mrs [guess who] succeeded me as prime minister?" This sounds inexplicable of course, but with Thaksin anything is possible.

Each of the diplomats made it clear enough to Thaksin that she certainly would not be a wise choice even though she is quite powerful within the party, and there was no need for them to explain why and create unnecessary embarrassment and misgivings.

Summoning ambassadors to his party headquarters was inappropriate enough, but insult was added to injury when news of the meetings was released.

The events were supposed to be discreet, but Thaksin chose to highlight the encounters, claiming that the talks were about his planned visits to the countries represented by the ambassadors for chats over coffee with their leaders.

If the protest rally on Friday draws a huge crowd, driven by Thaksin's tart comments and his high-stakes power play, the country may yet witness another crucial moment of history, or a prelude to what is to come. The remaining doubt is whether it will be a smooth transition or a bloody one.

Sopon Onkgara