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To the private sector, this is a welcome change, hopefully for the better in terms of public acceptance of the new PM. We have all suffered from the shortcomings and failures of previous leaders to live up to public expectations in times of crisis.

The stock market responded positively. There were also positive comments from business leaders facing bleak economic prospects brought about by the financial mayhem that originated in the US following the collapse of merchant banks and finance corporations.

Abhisit has a long way to go and he may stumble due to his inexperience, lack of political will and softness in dealing with coalition partners who will set tough conditions in exchange for their support.

The victory came with a big dent to the image of the country's oldest political party, with its long years in rough and tumble politics. Abhisit had to make a round of visits to ex-party chieftains banned from active politics to seek their support to fulfil his ambition.

That is a big price to pay. If he had not won the race yesterday, Abhisit and the Democrats would have suffered a serious blow to their credibility, after begging for votes from back-stabbers. This does not make them much different from the usual players in gutter politics.

The desire of the people for change, after months of crisis, will allow some time for the Democrats to prove their competence and worth after almost a decade as the opposition.

From now on, the Democrats must not only work hard, in a selfless manner, to regain the public's trust and confidence, Abhisit himself has to prove he is the real boss, the man in charge, ready to lead the country despite his relatively young age. Gutter politics is a game requiring long fangs and an understanding of betrayal.

Already, Abhisit has announced he will take charge of the economic team in an effort to resolve the current economic woes. The public is being battered by widespread job losses due to retrenchment and factory shutdowns.

First things first: Abhisit has to learn to listen, especially to his mentors, regarding political survival and economic management; this without hurting the coalition partners. Yet he must not be seen as being too accommodating. He must not compromise his own principles despite the political realities of benefit sharing.

He faces tough challenges on many fronts. Political divisiveness and conflict between the two mass factions have run too deep to hope for immediate remedy or reconciliation. He has witnessed how his two predecessors suffered from heckling and public denunciation for being political puppets trying to fulfil the self-serving objectives of their master.

Although he has been chosen to become prime minister, he still has to wait for a verdict of the Constitution Court today over the status of MPs under the party list system, and a by-election on January 11 to fill vacancies left by ex-MPs in the opposition camp.

The court's ruling today will determine whether more vacant seats are still possible if current MPs are judged invalid after their parties have been dissolved due to election fraud.

Abhisit cannot waste time in showing the people that he means business, and that his soft style and manners belie nerves of steel. The first test will be his selection of Cabinet members and how much freedom he has in rejecting the undesirable and the incompetent, particularly those with track records of dishonesty.

Of course, there will be no honeymoon period. Thaksin Shinawatra, now in self-imposed exile, is seething in rage, while working out new plots to regain power for his allies and puppets. It was a major setback for the fugitive convict, who has to pay a lot more just to keep the loyalty of the cronies he needs.

Only hard work and real resolve in tackling the pressing economic crisis, while trying to win the hearts of the people in the North and the Northeast, can enable the Democrats to lessen the feeling of animosity towards him in those two regions.

The toughest challenge will be for Abhisit to ruffle big feathers by introducing property taxes, limit landholding and the long-awaited inheritance tax. Next on the agenda is restructuring of the national police and the due process of law. Has anybody noticed if he has started sweating yet?