The Patriot, Episode 2: Goodbye, Motherland

Published on September 24, 2007

Surakiat has been voted off the island. He's by all means a patriotic man, but his plan to create a political mutation called The Motherland to put the country back on the path to democracy just wasn't going to crack the coconut.

Why? Because Snoh said it wasn't.

So the vast and awesome concept of Pua Paendin - the Motherland Party - lasted just nine days. Last Thursday Snoh announced that the group officially remains the Pracharaj Party. "What's wrong with this name?" he demanded to know.

Anyway, he grumbled, the most important thing is for everyone to work for the good of the country, so shut up about new names.

Viewers are asked not to blame the scriptwriter for Snoh's abrupt character shift from the previous episode. Perhaps Snoh was just teasing, and you know you should never trust movie teasers.

But we're not going to erase Snoh's name from the patriot wannabe list. As Korn Dabbaransi - who's tipped to become deputy leader of the Pracharaj - reminded reporters, whichever party Snoh joins will see its leader become prime minister.

Nice try, Korn, but Soopsip is wary about calling Snoh a kingmaker. He's had a hand in elevating some other names to lofty positions before, such as old Big Jiew - Chavalit Yongchaiyudh - and that other guy, Thaksin. As things turned out, their exits weren't as graceful as their entrances.