"Earlier, I thought I could be [a middleman] but now the situation has gone beyond that point. They have to find other people, possibly from outside the political arena. I have no right to offer myself as a middleman. People might say I'm meddling and I'll just get hurt for nothing,'' he said.

Banharn's comments followed a proposal from Chat Thai Party secretary-general Prapat Potasuthon yesterday that Banharn become the next prime minister.

Prapat said the country was clearly split into two political camps. If either the Thai Rak Thai Party or the Democrats won a majority to form the next government, he said, it would not be able to survive the likely political turmoil as mobs would take to the street in protest. So, there is a need for a middleman, Prapat said.

"At this juncture, we need a middleman to normalise the political situation, reconcile the two political camps and plug the loopholes. I think only Chat Thai can resolve the political tension. I do not want to say explicitly that it has to be Banharn, but I want to say that it must be a respectable figure who is acceptable to all parties,'' Prapat said.

He said he had discussed his proposal not with Banharn but other politicians.

Banharn said the only way to reduce the political tension was for the election commissioners to step down.

"Unless the three EC commissioners step down, there will be no way to achieve reconciliation,'' he said.

The former premier was sceptical about caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's call for reconciliation, but said if the premier was sincere, it was a positive development. "His subordinates must be willing to reconcile, too," Banharn said.

Asked if he wanted Thaksin to promise he would not accept the post of prime minister after the next general election, Banharn said this condition should be discussed later. "If you push for two conditions [both the EC and Thaksin standing aside] it is unlikely to succeed,'' he said.

Thaksin, meanwhile, said he agreed with the idea of having a person or a group of people attempt a reconciliation, as during the premiership of Anand Panyarachun in the 1990s.

"But everyone must accept it. We can't go ahead with such a plan, then later say it's wrong. That would be useless,'' he said.

Thaksin said Banharn would be a suitable go-between. "Anyone who can help the country,'' he said.

But he rejected a proposal to sit down and negotiate publicly. "It is too much of trouble because of too many cameras and microphones. So it's best to negotiate without the presence of cameras and microphones,'' he said.

He refused to respond to calls from his opponents that he vow not to assume the post of prime minister after the election. He also said he could not instruct the election commissioners to resign because they belonged to an independent agency.

Banharn lashed out at Thai Rak Thai Party deputy leader Pongthep Thepkanchana's recent criticism of Privy Council President Prem Tinasulanonda over his comments about the military's loyalty to the King and to the country.

"I do not know why Pongthep has to say anything against [Prem]. He should have supported Prem's comments. The military belongs to the country and the King. Prem was boosting the military's morale and had the right to say what he did. I read what Pongthep said and felt it was inappropriate. I do not know who is behind [the comments] or what his expectations were in saying it,'' Banharn said.

Constitution Court president Ura Wang-ormklang, president of the Supreme Court Chanchai Likhitjittha and Administrative Court president Ackaratorn Chularat will have lunch together today at an Italian restaurant in Soi Ton Son in the Sukhumvit area.

This will be the first meeting of the court presidents since Ura was appointed to his post at the Constitution Court on July 13.

The presidents have met in public three times in the past few months, saying they are conferring on ways to solve political problems on behalf of His Majesty the King.