The rationale in favour of Surayud, a former army chief with a record of professionalism and integrity, is that he would probably have better control over domestic security than the other potential candidates whose names have been mentioned in the press lately.

Over the next year or so, the country's political situation is likely to remain fragile and fluid, so the interim premier needs to have enough strength and back-up power to manage a potential crisis and ward off untoward incidents that may arise before there is a proper general election in late 2007.

During this crucial period, the stop-gap premier also needs to champion the cause of national reconciliation. The country was inching closer to an unprecedented social divide prior to the September 19 coup d'etat.

While recent polls show that more than 80 per cent of Thais supported the coup as a means to put the divisive Thaksin years behind them, there is no reason for the CDR to be complacent just yet.

For instance, what would the new premier and CDR do if Thaksin returned to Thailand and thousands of former supporters went to welcome him at the airport? And what would they do if anti-Thaksin demonstrators also showed up?

Hence, it is necessary for the interim leader to have qualifications that lean heavily towards expertise in national security rather than in economic or judicial affairs.

In this respect, Surayud is better qualified for the post than Supachai Panitchpakdi, the former director-general of World Trade Organisation, Ackaratorn Chularat, president of the Supreme Administrative Court, or Charnchai Likhitjitta, president of the Supreme Court.

In addition, Surayud was widely recognised as being pro-democracy and professional while serving as the Army's Commander-in-Chief from 1998 to 2001.

Such a track record should re-assure weary Thais and the international community that the CDR and its interim leadership have no intention whatsoever to prolong their presence beyond the self-imposed one-year limit.

In this respect, Surayud should also play the crucial role of helping to put Thailand back on the path to democracy after a necessary detour was taken to avoid the further worsening of corruption and widening of the social divide.

In this process, a new constitution will also be drafted to plug the loopholes previously exploited by the deposed Thaksin regime.

Alongside those abuses, the democratic institutions that were supposed to serve as checks and balances on the elected Thaksin government were effectively disabled.

For instance, the regime was said to have used several financial and other methods to take firm control of a large bloc, consisting of 60-80 members, of the 200-member Senate during the past five or six years.

As a result, the administration was able to influence the selection of members of several supposedly independent bodies. These included the Election Commission, the National Counter Corruption Commission and the Constitutional Court.

When coupled with its overwhelming majority in the House of Representatives (377 out of 500 MPs), the Thaksin regime had formidable control of the state.

It was clear that the Thaksin regime was democratic only in form (ie insisting that ballots are the only thing that matters in democracy), and not in substance.

Again, Surayud stands a good chance of helping to right these democratic shortcomings if he is chosen as the interim premier.

As an ex-solider, he can also help ensure that the country's political detour, as taken by the military's CDR on September 19, is really worth the expensive price of overthrowing an elected regime.

Nophakhun Limsamarnphun

 nop1122@yahoo.com