Caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, the man at the centre of the country's political crisis, has caused widespread anxiety by trying to cling on to power.

In the space of a week, Thaksin has managed to create rumours aplenty. For his friends and foes, he has been "bad news", piling confusion upon confusion.

And only PM and his closest confidants know what he's up to, because he has refused to publicly explain his actions and seemingly provocative comments.

Thaksin kicked off the week of verbal mayhem by summoning senior bureaucrats from across the country to a lecture at Government House on June 29. His key message was about a "charismatic figure" allegedly seeking to bring him down via unconstitutional means.

After, he chaired a Cabinet meeting to appoint two senior bureaucrats even though precedents set in May cast doubt over whether the appointments will get royal approval.

Then there were disclosures that Thaksin had written to US Presi-dent George W Bush and claimed recklessly that he had won an election in April but was stopped from forming a government.

His infamous remarks, hasty move to fill top bureaucratic positions and letter to the American leader could have been a series of coincidences. But some opponents fear his actions are part of a grand unspeakable plot to usurp power.

Only Thaksin can explain. His supporters have churned out a range of conflicting theories about what their leader actually meant when referring to the charismatic figure. They have failed, however, to dispel suspicion that Thaksin is trying to either involve the Monarchy or the Privy Council in his power play for the sake of his own political survival.

Former Senate speaker Meechai Ruchuphan has reminded the embattled prime minister of the dire consequences he might be obliged to suffer if he fails to clarify his remarks.

His former ally, Chat Thai Party leader Banharn Silapa-archa, said Thaksin had set himself on fire.

In regard to the bureaucratic appointments, the Cabinet arrived at the decision in a suspect manner. Thaksin endorsed Peeraphan Prempooti for the position of permanent secretary in the Prime Minister's Office. He also made Rongphol Charoenphanthu Cabinet secretary general. The caretaker government is in the process of seeking royal approval for the appointments - less than two months after the Palace returned a reshuffle list of provincial governors.

After resuming his caretaker duties on May 23 following his six-week "political break", Thaksin pushed for the provincial rotations in spite of a constitutional ban on the caretaker government shuffling senior positions. In an emergency, the caretaker government must seek the Election Commission's endorsement before petitioning for royal approval. But the catch is that the EC does not have a quorum to review appointments.

Weeks after Thaksin ordered the Interior Ministry to redraw the list of provincial governors and resubmit it in the proper way, he appears to have forgotten his embarrassment and is set to repeat the act. This has caused much speculation on why the PM appears to be testing his limits with the Royal Palace.

The mystery surrounding Thaksin's true intentions deepened after his top aide Prommin Lertsuridej confirmed his boss had called the attention of foreign leaders, including President Bush, to the domestic political situation. Even though Prommin insisted Thaksin's letter to Bush contained no sinister message, commentators wondered how and why the caretaker prime minister had claimed he could not form a government in spite of an electoral victory.

Did Thaksin actually tell Bush he won the April 2 election but was then forced to face a new poll after His Majesty the King advised the judiciary on April 25 to sort out the electoral "mess" from the botched ballot?

Thaksin has to explain many issues if he wants to ensure his own survival.

Avudh Panananda

The Nation