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Published on February 15, 2008

We have not seen each other for a while. She is a big fan of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej. Aunt Varee told me that she will not die until she has tasted kuay tiew khaek (Northern-style coconut curry noodle) and tue huan (pork intestines with fermented vegetable soup) cooked by Samak. Here is what she wrote:

"Dear Khun Thanong:

"I hope this letter finds you well. It is very cold now. I am alone in my little house. My fingers are frozen. I have a difficult time typing on my computer keyboard. But I am excited to write you this letter. I now sincerely believe that Phra Siam Dhevathiraj does exist. It is of great merit for Thailand to have Khun Samak as prime minister. As the old saying has it, 'Ayutthaya never loses a good man'.

"I pray before the Lord Buddha every day so that he encourages Khun Samak to think before he speaks. I want Khun Samak to serve as prime minister for the full term so that Thailand can claim it has the best rose apple in the whole world.

"Khun Samak is a saviour for Thailand. Before the election, as you know, most people thought that it was all about Thaksin. This was crazy. Nobody was thinking about Samak at all. Wasn't his rose-apple nose prominent enough?

"They acted as if he were a dumb guy sitting there and doing nothing. They were paying too much attention to Abhisit Vejjajiva and Thaksin to think about Samak. As it turned out, Samak led the People Power Party to victory. All he needed to do was to present himself as Samak, the One and Only. So it was kind of unexpected - including for Thaksin - when Samak became Thailand's 25th prime minister. But there was nothing unexpected at all. Samak made it the old fashioned way - he earned it.

"I don't know what has gone wrong with Khun Thaksin. Personally, I like him very much. We were born in the same month and the same year. There were rumours that he wanted Khun Samak to become his proxy because he was waging an underground war against the 'Invisible Hand'. I don't know and I don't care who the 'Invisible Hand' is. He thought he could use Samak for one year before dumping him and his cats.

"You see, Samak is not a piece of garbage that Thaksin can dump at any time like members of the Manchester City squad. Samak is Samak. Everybody should have known that. Get it?

"But Khun Samak quickly reminded people that he was Samak, by creating hell for everybody. He said that the Cabinet looked ugly. The Cabinet indeed looks ugly, because most of the members are the B-team. The A-team consists of the 111 former executives of the defunct Thai Rak Thai, who have been banned from politics for five years.

"Much to Thaksin's dismay, Samak went on to pick his own people to help him run the country. Samak did not have to consult Thaksin at all. If Thaksin wants to return home from self-exile to fight corruption cases in court, that's his business.

"Khun Thaksin had thought Samak would allow him to pull strings for one year at the most or three months at the least, before Parliament passes amnesty legislation for the 111 former TRT executives, including Thaksin himself. That would pave the way for his return to politics in triumph.

"But Khun Samak did not want to play Thaksin's game. Samak has been able to win more popularity by playing the role of a statesman. He will show the world he is the best cook around. He has also let it be known that he is a Royalist. He can also ally himself very well with the military establishment.

"Khun Thaksin must be fuming because all his investment is going for nothing. How can he bring down Samak, who now aims to stay for the long term? The problem is that all the B-team members of the Cabinet have also tasted power. They won't want to step down either. Why would they want to step aside for the A-team? Thaksin can't expect Parliament to now pass the law to help him and the other 110 executives.

"Khun Noppadon Patama, the foreign minister, still acts as a lawyer. He said the other day that Thaksin would return home before May. Will he? I doubt it. As Khun Samak is on his way to becoming a statesman and the ugly B-team is about to enjoy their buffet in the Cabinet, who would be crazy enough to want Thaksin to return home to spoil their fun?

"That's my observation from the North Pole. I am too far away from Thai politics to see the whole picture. But from the North Pole, I sometimes have a clearer head than the folks at home."

That's the letter I received from Aunt Varee. I'm not sure whether I should agree or disagree with her. I only wish that the ice at the North Pole doesn't melt away because of global warming and leave Thailand underwater.

 

Thanong Khanthong

The Nation