Chuan sings PM's praises

Chuan, who is chairman of the ruling Democrat Party's advisory council, described Abhisit as being good at prioritising issues.

"I believe the PM has in-depth knowledge and is precise [in making judgement calls]. Facing obstacles at work is normal, however," he said, adding that his remarks  came from a decade of observing how Abhisit works.

 The government will adhere to the rule of law and not resort to favouritism in resolving problems, he said, alluding to how the government should treat the anti-Thaksin Shinawatra People's Alliance for Democracy. The PAD has close links to the Democrats at different levels, and recently controversially occupied Bangkok's commercial airports for a week.

 Chuan said he was confident Abhisit would succeed in preventing anti-government protests from escalating further, adding that the Democratic Alliance against Dictatorship (DAAD) does not represent the sentiments of the majority of the public.

 "The government must represent the majority of the people in the country. Having differing views is normal, but the government must not lose heart and make people feel it is discriminatory [against a particular group]," he said in reference to Thaksin's once-famous dictum that provinces that did not vote for his party would receive no government financial support.

 Chuan blamed Thaksin and the two subsequent government under his tutelage for causing the crisis in the deep South, due their hawkish policy against Thai-Malay Muslims.

 Chuan, who made his remarks before heading back to his home province of Trang in the South to celebrate the New Year, also blamed "political business" and money politics for being behind vote-buying, corruption and the DAAD protests.

 The former premier also defended the Ahbisit administration's last-minute change of venue in order to deliver its policy statement on Tuesday as an attempt to avoid clashes with anti-government protesters in order to save lives.