'Mr S's bribes'

The embattled premier took the allegations personally and came close to losing his cool as he blasted certain newspapers for being unkind and lacking professionalism. He pointed out that caricatures of him had featured his face attached to the bodies of pigs and dogs.

The alleged bribery reportedly took place during Samak's term as Bangkok governor. As usual when revelations and allegations against him and his government have surfaced, Samak was quick to jump to the conclusion that some hidden hands are out to get him, be they from the media, the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), and/or the opposition Democrat Party.

He survived the censure debate but vowed not to change his Cabinet line-up, as it would be seen as giving in to speculation from the local press.

But it shouldn't take a genius to figure out that some of his Cabinet members - people he once called "ugly" - had no business getting their posts in the first place.

But during this week's radio talk-show, he said the shake-up would soon take place. It should not be seen as a victory for the press; this  is something that needs to be done - like garbage that needs to be cleaned up.

Samak also stated that he would make another push for constitutional reform.

According to Samak, the 2007 Constitution, came about during the Army-appointed government of Surayud Chulanont, and includes a political trap aimed at bringing him and the country to its knees.

The Constitution makes it easy for political parties to be disbanded by court order if it is deemed that the party executives were caught committing electoral fraud. Like other allegations, Samak took it personally - as if his party members are the only ones who buy votes. Perhaps a word of advice would be, "Don't get caught!"

Opponents accused Samak of trying to change the  Constitution to help pave the way for the return of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra or at least save him from facing corruption-related charges.

They said Samak and his People's Power Party are merely proxies of Thaksin, who still wields the real power behind the scenes.

Samak, naturally, dismissed all these charges, and compared his fight as a matter of life and death - politically speaking, we hope.

"I am ready to face whatever crisis comes. I have to do it or die," he said.

Samak backed down once before from this drive amid an all out assault from the PAD. Bangkokians hope that his do-or-die attitude will not translate into bloodshed on the streets. But for a man with a history of not backing down from a fight, it is not unreasonable to assume that the worst is yet to come.