From a local divisive figure to a potential global menace

There are many theories on why London suddenly decided that "Frank" had to go "his way". But if what led to it was something like what Chirmsak implied - that Thaksin possibly was trailed by "shadows" and his business and political activities were seen and heard by satellites - then the truth may never be known.

Speculation unavoidably centred on the only key business Thaksin had in Britain. He bought Manchester City Football Club with money he had never declared having while he was in power in Thailand. And despite the club's failures on the pitch and its bad balance sheet, he sold it at a double profit to Middle Eastern billionaires who have a strange, though admirable, belief that money can turn MCFC into a profitable global "brand".

Thaksin and business transactions ... enough said. They were what wrecked Thailand and soured her relations with Singapore. Is it possible the British detected something and London got scared? Believers in this theory cited the fact that the UK didn't seem to mind being perceived as a rude host. Like someone said in a Thaksin thread in thaivisa.com, if you discover that your tenant is a potential danger, would you pursue a normal legal route to remove him, or quickly change the locks when he's out shopping?

British officials have been totally tight-lipped and only yesterday did UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband say the couple's jail sentences were the reason why their visas were cancelled. Britain's overall cheeky silence, however, adds weight to the something-is-unusual theory. London's official stand that it will talk more only if Thaksin talks first, could be either a normal diplomatic strategy or a mischievous "Don't make us say it."

It could be as complicated as that, or it could be as simple as the British foreign secretary stated. Thaksin always referred to Britain as "democratically mature", only he didn't know what that really meant. In a democratically mature nation, everyone falls under the same laws and maybe we saw the visa move as "unusual" because the "usual" things the Brits were doing seemed strange to our eyes.

Whatever motivated Britain, it was certainly not results from the ballot box, or his proclaimed "champion of the poor" status. Thaksin's two landslide election victories and praise for his social welfare programmes have featured in all arguments in his favour for years. They have blurred the real contentious point: "Has he broken the law?"

Another theory, backed by a long list of rich foreign asylum seekers living happily in that country despite dubious backgrounds, doesn't put Britain in such a noble light. Thaksin must have shot himself in the foot by simply failing to behave like a real political refugee. The Rajamangala Stadium gathering was massive, but the fact that it took place in the middle of the Thai capital with help from various parties in a country governed by his brother-in-law took away much from the charade of him being a helpless political victim.

If politics is the art of drumming up sympathy, Thaksin may have overdone it, and thus it backfired. And, infuriated by the visa ban, he has claimed once again that it is the result of a conspiracy. "They" have pushed him into a corner, he claimed. He will keep giving phone-in addresses to his supporters and next time he will "name them all".

So, Britain has gone from "democratically mature" to being gullible enough to be under the influence of, or in cahoots with, a few thousand extremists and a dozen dictatorial judges. Now, he doesn't want to seek asylum there because he is a "freedom" fighter who has to operate freely, even though that will mean he has to "sleep in a tent".

And from self comparison with Aung San Suu Kyi, he's now Nelson Mandela. Another court ruling coupled with more visa denials and Gandhi must be shifting in his grave. As of now, it's the US, another role model of democracy, that needs to be worried. After all, since James Bond may have had his fair share of the Thaksin experience, probably it's Jason Bourne's turn.