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It could be said that the gang seized power from the real PPP owner - ousted PM Thaksin Shinawatra.

Some might raise eyebrows at how things have come to this. They are all Thaksin's close and trusted men.

In fact, Thaksin had no choice but to let the four manage the reshuffle and the party, as he was put into a corner and has many cases to defend.

Thaksin was reeling from many blows: not only anti-government protests but also court verdicts going against him, his family, key men in the government and those related to the defunct Thai Rak Thai Party.

But look deeper and perhaps Thaksin no longer has power in the PPP and is being brought down by his close men.

What is the real relationship between the gang of four and Thaksin now? Have they really broken up with Thaksin?

After becoming PM, Samak has shown many times he is independent from his predecessor. Thaksin could no more dominate Samak. An old saying that power is addictive has proved to be true in this case.

For Newin, his role was not surprising when looking back to his old days. He used to betray Banharn Silapa-archa, the Chart Thai Party leader, when Newin was a Chart Thai MP. He took to a stage and harshly slammed Banharn before moving to join the Solidarity Party and then Thai Rak Thai.

Despite once being Thaksin's close aide, Newin failed to show up to give moral support to Thaksin and his wife Pojaman at the Criminal Court last Thursday when Pojaman was sentenced to three years in jail for tax evasion.

Some PPP MPs and some of the 111 banned Thai Rak Thai executive members were there to support the couple.

Two years ago, a tearful Newin was the first man to hug Thaksin on the day Thaksin packed his belongings and left Government House after he had announced his suspension from the premier's post.

Perhaps Newin is looking to the future. The verdict in Pojaman's case may be a sign showing that Thaksin and his family's chances of surviving their other cases are slim or even non-existent.

As a cunning politician, jumping before the ship sinks can be the best choice rather than waiting to die with the sinking ship.

As for Surapong, nobody would ever think he could stab his boss in the back.

Surapong is one of Thaksin's inner circle along with Prommin Lertsuridej, Phumtham Vejjayachai and Somkid Jatusripitak. They have been Thaksin's right-hand men since Thaksin founded Thai Rak Thai in 1998 and won a landslide victory in the 2001 election.

Fortunately, Surapong was not a Thai Rak Thai executive, so he escaped being banned from politics. After the party's dissolution, its MPs moved to the PPP, a reincarnation of Thai Rak Thai. Surapong was appointed the PPP's secretary-general. After it won the 2007 election, Surapong became finance minister in Samak's administration to continue Thai Rak Thai's populist policies.

During the 2007 election campaign, Surapong's name also emerged as a candidate for prime minister as nobody thought Samak would become PM.

With his close relationship with Thaksin, it would be hard to believe Surapong would gang up with Samak and Newin to rebel against Thaksin.

However, there was interesting information in the latest reshuffle. Samak reportedly reassigned Surapong to replace Thaksin's brother-in-law Somchai Wongsawat as the first deputy prime minister, who will be acting PM if Samak is away or cannot do his duty.

An important question has been raised. How did Newin and Surapong trust each other?

In this case Newin should be the one who is concerned, not Surapong. Surapong could be either Thaksin's spy or middleman.

"Surapong still talks with Thaksin. He is an intermediary between Thaksin and Samak," a PPP source said.

No one knows how long the gang will last or how sincere they are, but both Newin and Surapong are clever.

Newin has more than 100 MPs in his hands while Surapong is prudent. They know what the other is up to.