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This question is not designed to help guide the beleaguered premier out of the tight corner he finds himself in.

Does he believe that he is in deep trouble, or is it just our own presumption?

Judging from Samak's constant mood swings, it is hard to gauge whether he is taking things in his stride or suffering many sleepless nights. He can be abrasive during his emotional outbursts, then he cools down as if nothing had happened.

What we can say right now is that he has no intention of resigning from his post. It does not matter that his position came as an undeserved political windfall due to an odd turn of circumstances after the previous general election.

Now that he has become prime minister, the time he spends in the job from now on is for his own self-satisfaction. That's why he has put economic problems on the back burner, caring more about how to stay on as long as possible.

Changes in his temperament make him unpredictable, though friends and foes tend to take it for granted that Samak does not possess a complex personality. Ideas and opinions he professed years ago during his prime are still set in his mind right now.

When he met reporters before lunch with the coalition partners, he showed all the signs of a man who was about to blow his top. A few moments later, he was all jolly with his partners.

He is a loner among the crowds of loyal Thaksin supporters at the People Power Party. What we can sense and observe is that Samak reacts with instinct when adapting to a changing situation.

His best weapon so far has been indifference when he finds that the problem or challenge he faces is formidable. It could be seen as a sense of apathy when he brushes aside critical comments and attacks with aloofness.

When he slips up, either through his ill-timed tantrums or his crude responses to provocation, he displays a remarkable aplomb in entirely ignoring the aftermath.

This way, he effectively prevents the escalation of any situation that puts him in a tight spot. By feigning ignorance and pretence, his foes cannot undertake a prolonged engagement or make their charges stick.

Samak can be scoffed at for being a battle-scarred politician with image problems, but he has been reinvented with Teflon: he can still frustrate his adversaries who, as yet, have been unable to end his political career.

Now he has been in office for four months - defying astrologers and critics who had predicted he wouldn't last that long - Samak displays vigour with his diversionary ploys such as his TV home-cooking show and his weekly talk on Sunday.

He has been able to deflect all allegations related to corruption, confident there is no damning evidence to pin him down. Yet, at some moments he appears worried about the consequences of his past risks.

When it comes to national security and the public interest, Samak can be criticised for his ignorance. He hardly raises a finger when there is public anger over cronyism and the self-serving activities of key figures in his party.

Several scandal-tainted figures with criminal charges pending against them have been nominated for key positions in important institutions, including financial posts, with no qualms from Samak. They are retired civil servants, disgraced by corruption charges, who have joined together to serve Thaksin Shinawatra's political and business interests, and are detrimental to long-term financial and monetary stability. Targets for control and management takeover include the Stock Exchange, the Securities and Exchange Commission, state-run banks and lately, the Bank of Thailand.

Samak may already know about, or is just ignoring, what is happening. This is a conspiracy among tainted civil servants and senior executives of key securities and financial institutions. There has already been much publicity about these schemes.

If they can seize the Bank of Thailand, remove the governor and replace her with a crony of Thaksin from the SEC, the Bank's credibility will be corroded, with wide exposure to risk and the possibility of no less a peril than the financial debacle we experienced back in 1997.