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Last Saturday morning, they unexpectedly got a big boost when Premier Samak Sundaravej, willy-nilly, became the sixth in the anti-government forefront.

Samak's "do-or-die" speech on Channel 11 that morning gave the PAD a shot in the arm. The dwindling crowd at Makkhawan Rangsan Bridge, after a full week of protests, suddenly swelled.

Samak's abrasive statement - "If you don't move out, the police will make sure you do. The make-or-break point will be decided today" - gave the PAD's original five-member leadership a much-needed boost. Those who had stayed at home to watch TV coverage of the protest decided to make their presence felt - just to make sure that the use of force by the government to evict peaceful protestors couldn't be tolerated by those who believe in the freedom of expression.

No, don't jump to the conclusion that Samak might have triggered that avalanche with an ulterior motive - such as to warn Thaksin Shinawatra against trying to replace him with another nominee. He was simply following his very own "hawkish" instinct, which has always been an open secret.

Whether he realised it or not, Samak, by coming out with that highly provocative statement, was only strengthening his arch-enemy's position. Suddenly, the PAD's subsequent call for his immediate ouster as part of "upgrading the anti-government struggle" did not seem all that unreasonable or unrealistic anymore.

To make things even more interesting, Samak's stance on his bizarre "non-violent crackdown" on the protestors also pushed the army and police chiefs onto the side of the anti-Thaksin-plus-Samak crowd.

How could you miss the paradox? Army commander-in-chief, Gen Anupong Paochinda, and National Police chief, Police Gen Patcharawat Wongsuwan rushed to Government House on Monday morning, not to urge the government to use force to disperse the rally, but to tell the prime minister that any use of force in this regard would be disastrous.

Instead of getting tough words from the security and law-enforcement chiefs, Samak was more or less given a lecture by the two on why politicians should solve political conflicts through political means.

In other words, the "neo-con" premier suddenly found his security officers siding with the anti-Samak demonstrators for no other reason than the fact that peaceful rallies against the powers-that-be were fair game in a democracy - and dispersing protestors with force would be courting serious trouble.

And as if that wasn't spooky enough, Samak's "suicide-bombing" speech on Saturday, also sent coalition party leaders scurrying for shelter. Snoh Thienthong, leader of the Pracharaj Party, speaking on behalf of the 10 senior politicians representing four parties in the coalition government, declared after a hastily-convened dinner:

"If the prime minister decides to disperse the protestors through force, we will have nothing to do with that move. In fact, none of us among the coalition partners had been consulted before Khun Samak went on television on Saturday to make that strong speech."

Again, whether he intended it that way or not, Samak somehow managed to propel his coalition partners into a position that is publicly seen to be sympathetic with the anti-government rally.

Self-destructive actions seem to be his unquestionable forte. And he seems capable of executing them with ease and even, if you look closely enough, great satisfaction.

Reports say that Samak said sorry to his coalition partners during Tuesday's weekly Cabinet meeting for not having consulted them before delivering his "bombshell" television threat to the protestors. Did anyone tell him that he should in fact have issued a public apology for having wreaked havoc on the people's general sense of security that morning?

Perhaps none of the ministers cared about him enough to whisper that piece of advice to him. They now see the writing on the wall. And the message is grim indeed.

Is there any doubt therefore that quite a few political analysts have come to the conclusion that his political days are now numbered?

The countdown has begun.