Before landing, the aircraft should circle over the airport for a while for Thaksin to get a complete aerial view of the vast complex and the entire area, which has become a monument to massive corruption unrivalled by any other local project.

By now, the Suvarnabhumi Thaksin sees should be distinctly different from what he saw before the airport was assigned to serve airlines on September 28, and heralded as something all Thai people should be proud of.

The smooth runways and taxiways then look very appalling now. The pre-opened airport looked like a healthy and beautiful lady, fit to provide full service required, but she is now patched up with plaster and limping on a crutch, if not seated on a wheelchair after repeated gang rapes.

Thaksin should be allowed to meet the press, the full pack - with CNN as the real hotshot media, ready for live interviews - for the world to find out what a man who has just returned from exile has to say, particularly his comments on the condition of the airport.

His plans for the future should be reserved for another session, after he gets clearance from a high-level reception committee whose members come from different government agencies. By that time, his comments and movements might be limited by unforeseen circumstances, which could be highly unpleasant.

We can visualise Thaksin sporting a brave face and repeating the statement made on his behalf by his legal counsel on Friday that Thai people should not assume that Thaksin knew everything and every aspect of Suvarnabhumi from construction to completion.

The lawyer will surely make a strong point that Thaksin's frequent claims of being "Mr Know All" should be given an exception on this issue, because Thaksin habitually accepts only goodies while others should take all the blame and brickbats on his behalf.

When his turn comes after an opening speech, we can expect Thaksin to show suave style as a spin-master wholly fine-tuned by reputed American lobbyists and PR firms who know a lot of powerful people in high places. His schmoozing and soft sell should again dazzle grass-roots supporters.

As a great communicator with classy showmanship, Thaksin can change stances between feigning innocence and displaying ignorance while using his charm to disarm antagonistic reporters with tough questions. With new tricks and histrionics, he should get around them easily.

If there happen to be some harsh and probing questions from tenacious news people, Thaksin can always shift to plain admission of flaws without taking any responsibility, as ever before.

Of course, anyone can make mistakes and errors in judgement. Thaksin is no exception. He can claim that his previous assurance that there was no massive corruption in the airport project should also be treated as another "honest mistake" and somebody else should be held accountable.

A great leader and chief executive officer like him can do no wrong. Otherwise he should not be called Thaksin and given the task of turning Thailand in a land of opportunity for crooked politicians and partners in crime to enhance their wealth.

As the interview proceeds, Thaksin should feel at ease - his critics and antagonists fallen victim to his spin and spell. His closing remarks should go like this:

"Well, if you don't like this airport and now that I am here, I can undo the harm by planning to build another international airport, better and bigger than any other airport. We can turn this ugly junk heap and rotten ground into an international exhibition centre, for all people to have a full view of what Bt140 billion can produce.

"At the new airport, I can assure you that there will not be any Mr 20 Per Cent or Madam 30 Per Cent. Inflation has caught up with them. I appreciate their suffering. Whatever they should take from the new airport project should be inflation-adjusted, with a bit more as a top-up to compensate for nuisance over corruption allegations they have to bear."

Upon his closing remarks, Thaksin should be introduced to the high-level reception committee, comprising the national police chief, the attorney general, the chief justice of the Supreme Court, the director-general of the Corrections Department and, finally, the chief warden of Bang Kwang maximum security prison.

They are there because Suvarnabhumi should be put to good use and justice should prevail with a befitting grand finale. The airport can serve as a venue for the criminal trials of those who enriched themselves by taking a big chunk of the Bt140 billion for wealth creation. In fact, the entire complex can serve as unimpeachable evidence of corruption.

 Sopon Onkgara