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Published on July 25, 2007

The ex-premier humbly ordered pad thai, costing a mere £13 (Bt900). While members of his entourage were domineering and some were rude, the restaurant's manager confirmed that the former premier was pleasant and friendly. This is the side that Thaksin wishes to portray to the Thai community overseas and foreign governments alike.

Since he was overthrown by a coup last September, Thaksin has taken London as his second home. Thaksin had always been a regular visitor to the British capital. His daughter is a student at Cass Business School in London.

Back in March of this year, Khunying Pojaman Shinawatra requested that the Bank of Thailand transfer Bt400 million to the United Kingdom so that she could buy a house in London. The Shinawatras now own a luxurious apartment at No 55 Park Lane in central London. It was rumoured that they purchased the property from Mohamed Al-Fayed, the owner of the world famous Harrods department store and England's Fulham Football Club.

Al-Fayed is not short on controversy himself. He has long battled with the UK government in his bid to obtain British citizenship and his son, Dodi, was killed in a car crash in Paris with the late Princess Diana in 1997.

Thais sometimes spot Thaksin while he is out on a shopping spree at Harrods. They greet him and ask to take photographs with him, and he never disappoints. While being friendly and forthcoming, Thaksin has, in the meantime, embarked on an active political campaign in order to rectify his tainted legitimacy.

There seem to be two kinds of people who remain nostalgic about the Thaksin days: ordinary Thais who fell deep into the illusion of Thaksin's past populist policies, and those who act as Thaksin's mouthpieces - ie, the loyal members of the moribund Thai Rak Thai Party. The latter have been fed money to keep the Thaksin phenomenon rolling.

These two groups have worked closely in order to put Thaksin back in power and destabilise the military government. Thaksin himself exercises his masterly skills of political manipulation at home even while he is in exile through the use of his wealth, his supporters, and his political servants, in order to strike against the Thai junta.

In May this year, over 100 Thais in London staged a protest against the government in front of the Thai Embassy at Queen's Gate. They carried banners reading "Free Thailand Now" and called for an end to the military dictatorship. They also urged fellow compatriots in the United States, China and Japan to protest against the coup.

Anti-Thaksin campaigner Ekkayuth Anchanbutr claimed the anti-coup protesters in London were each paid £50, and that most were not Thais but illegal migrant workers, who were rewarded for the publicity stunt staged by Thaksin supporters.

Thaksin swiftly denied the allegation that he paid for a fake demonstration in London. He also rejected the claim that he offered Bt3 million to Thai Rak Thai MPs in northern and north-eastern provinces to carry out activities aimed at toppling the regime.

The battlefield has also extended to include cyberspace. Thaksin's supporters have set up anti-coup websites, such as thaksin.org and hi-thaksin.net, as venues of attack against the junta. Here, Thaksin's pictures, video clips, music videos and news links for other websites, can be found. Thaksin recently revealed in London that he plans to establish a new website to keep in close contact with his supporters.

The media war has indeed long been vicious. Earlier this year, Thaksin hired Edelman Public Relations to discredit the military government. A series of articles by Edelman was launched for that purpose, mostly concerning Thai democracy, the sombre relations between Thailand and Burma and the issue of compulsory licensing.

Then in May he made phone calls from London to a number of pro-Thaksin radio stations in Thailand, urging early elections and voicing concern for the rural poor. The airing of the live calls caused an uproar in the capital since it was seen as an attempt by Thaksin to revive his public profile and court his support base.

A month later, he recorded a speech, again from London, to be broadcast on a giant screen to a large crowd of supporters rallying at Sanam Luang. He announced that he had become the victim of political persecution aimed at destroying his power base. He stressed, "I will fight for the charges and protect my dignity, but not to re-enter politics".

While playing the victim in this high-stakes political game, Thaksin continues to raise his international profile in order to keep himself visible in Thailand. He bought the English Premier League club Manchester City to help in this regard. "From a public-relations point of view, having a football club is probably better than having an election rally," said a business consultant in Bangkok.

Thaksin also travels around the world under the new guise of a respected scholar. In July, he gave a lecture at Tokyo's Takushoku University, repeatedly condemning the junta for interfering with justice by using "guns and tanks" to catch him. Two months earlier, he was invited to Moscow to collect an honorary award in science at the Plekhanov Russian Academy of Economics.

Thai politics has been left in a muddle mainly because of Thaksin's manipulation, even while he lives happily in London. It is not in Thaksin's interest to welcome any peaceful end to the political deadlock because that could mean the end of his days. When "enough is enough" is not really enough for him, it seems that what he claims is "unwanted" - political power - is really what he always wants.

Thais abroad and foreign governments must be made aware of the fact that the real victim of this latest episode of Thai politics is not really Thaksin, but ordinary Thais, just like you and me.

Pavin Chachavalpongpun

Special to The Nation

singapore

Dr Pavin Chachavalpongpun is an independent writer based in Singapore.