Govt to counter Thaksin's 'air war'

He said the government would show the public how Thaksin was trying to hamper its efforts to salvage the economy by pushing the country into deeper political conflict with the help of the red shirts, who continue staging rallies across the country. Thaksin himself has been using frequent phone-in events to stir political unrest.

"We have to explain to the people that the country cannot afford to let politics adversely affect the efforts being made to solve economic problems,'' he said.

Satit said the fact that Thaksin was attacking the government so frequently showed that the opposition Pheu Thai Party was weak and needed his support. He said public surveys showed that the majority wanted Thaksin to stop holding these phone-ins because they wanted peace to return to the country.

Thaksin has been calling on his supporters to join the red-shirt rally at Sanam Luang on March 2.

Government whip chairman Chinnaworn Boonyakiet said Thaksin was using this phone-in tactics to build support as the opposition gets ready to launch a no-confidence motion against the government.

However, he said, the government was not worried because it believes that Thaksin's moves would only reduce the public's faith in opposition because it was allowing itself to be used as a tool by outsiders.

Deputy Prime Minister Sanan Kachornprasart downplayed Thaksin' moves saying that as long as the government worked diligently to solve the country's problems, it had nothing to worry about.