The topic is the sufficiency economy, a hot issue which has drawn wide criticism among the foreign press who are still confused about the true meaning of the philosophy and its influence on Thai economic policies.

But more interesting than the topic itself is the speaker.

Somkid Jatusripitak is delivering the keynote speech entitled "Sufficiency Economy - The Heart to Build the Nation".

That seems weird, given that Somkid was a deputy prime minister who played a vital role in shaping the economy under the Thaksin administration. Then the Thai economy was designed to follow ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's "dual-track" concept, which formed the heart of his much-heralded "Thaksinomics" economic philosophy.

Now that Thaksin is gone, travelling around the world while waiting to tell the foreign and local press what is on his mind, Somkid has apparently turned his back on Thaksinomics.

What's even more interesting is that Chai-anan Samudvanija will be among three figures joining a panel discussion the same day to talk about "Thailand on the Road to the Future".

Remarkably, Chai-anan was among the first to cut his support for Thaksin when the then-PM was beleaguered by bad news, sparked by his family's sale of shares in Shin Corp. When it was likely that the government would lose its case against consumers' complaints over the privatisation of the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, Chai-anan quickly resigned from his post as Egat director, paving way for the court's decision.

Now, it seems the close friends are reunited. But against what?

achara_d@nationgroup.com