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The Surayud administration was labelled sloppy because of its performance, leaving with hardly any achievements. The Samak government has all the potential to outclass its predecessor in many respects.

Not only do several Cabinet members continue to display a shameless attitude and a lack of caring towards the worsening livelihood of people hard hit by rising oil prices and an increased cost of living, they also intend to cling to their seats. Never mind the public and the increasingly loud outcry.

The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) has shown the world that its perseverance in holding more than 45 days of protest rallies right in the heart of the city, periodically moving to key government offices, has failed to bring Cabinet members to their senses.

The protests will continue and nobody, even PAD's five leaders, knows when it will end and which side will eventually win. Prime Minister Samak will have to live with the present embarrassment of not knowing how to dislodge the protesters from in front of Government House.

Of course, he blames everybody else but himself. Increasingly frustrated, his hot temper flared during his Sunday talk - this time he chose to pick on the Administrative Court for meddling in the affairs of the executive branch.

A lot of people feel good when they witness Samak at his wit's end. More foul moods on his part will make him direct harsher words at critics and adversaries.

We know that Samak listens to critics, but never believes that he has made any mistakes. Those familiar with his behaviour and how he plays the "blame game" are not surprised to see that Samak's words are his worst enemies. He spouts out more - and the people forget what he has said previously and zone in on entirely new tirades.

What's more? His own future remains very uncertain. As the days pass, Samak moves closer to the prison gate, as the Court of Appeals will soon deliver its judgement, which could be the death knell for the ageing politician, whose combative style has still found no match.

Yet, there was another explosive revelation in Japan, when a major construction contractor confessed during an investigation that it had paid a bribe, equivalent to some Bt124 million, to city officials while Samak served as governor.

Surely, this is not an isolated case. If a firm had paid a bribe to win a lucrative contract, then  others probably did likewise and the city administration has billions of baht in contracts up for grabs among financial savvy and generous bidders.

How will he react to this bad news from Japan? Samak would be full of bluster and in a bad mood, of course, because we cannot expect him to admit any involvement in that hanky-panky business.

This scandal from Japan also reminds us that Samak has been accused of having a role in large shady deals involving the procurement of fire-fighting boats and trucks, and the construction of a garbage disposal plant. Coincidence? Let's think not.

But we still have to deal with the big picture and the prospects of having more time with the Samak Cabinet in power and able to cause more damage to the country by doing nothing amidst the escalating economic and political crises.

Crimes, particularly robberies and thefts, are mushrooming and the police are unable to cope with the rising trend as they are losing public confidence and trust.

The uproar over Preah Vihear could eventually add more fuel to the public outrage if Thailand eventually stands to lose whatever is gained on the part of Cambodia. Loose tongues and foul moods will not help.

Who is in charge then? Samak and his team members obviously are not doing their job, while just trying to save their Cabinet seats.

Maybe they are the sane people in this land.