Thaksin finally meets his match, it seems
They once cherished a chummy relationship - a senior journalist-cum-business tycoon hobnobbing with a powerful politician-cum-billionaire together aiming for high stakes through their close connections. During the moments of camaraderie and fine wines they addressed each other on a first-name basis.
 The Nation
November 13, 2005 - Now they stand apart. On one side is Sondhi Limthongkul, now a fiery orator who on Friday moved thousands of people who rallied at Lumpini Park to hear his new chapter of tirades directed at the man he now faces off with, his old friend Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. They have stopped shaking hands and are now grabbing for the throat simply because Sondhi has changed, turning his friendship into enmity towards Thaksin. The love-hate-relationship has deteriorated, coming to blows in what is expected to be a prolonged fight of libel suits in the courts.
Sondhi has become a lone crusader, hoping to end Thaksin's seemingly invulnerable leadership position by tapping into the frustration felt by rural grass-roots groups and urban have-nots. Nobody wants to speculate on or discuss publicly the cause of the breaking of their once-cosy ties.
Sondhi is probably the only journalist whom Thaksin found the time in his tight schedule to attend a birthday party for. The period of currying favour and reciprocity stretched from professional binds to business deals for mutual benefits known only to themselves.
Ironically, before their fallout, Sondhi was a staunch admirer of Thaksin. "He is the best prime minister this country has ever had," he once said. That boast, made on Sondhi's television news talk show, raised many eyebrows because it starkly contrasted with the prevailing reality of what has been going on during this government.
During the past several months, the tone of Sondhi's flagship newspaper, Manager, began changing from friendliness to antagonism. More and more critical comments on government policy and corruption kept appearing in print. The soured relationship worsened when his strong comments led to the removal of Sondhi's talk show.
He moved the battlefield from the television studio to the university hall, and then to Lumpini Park, where he vented his fury. In soliciting public support to get at Thaksin, he cited all known cases of mischief-making, misguided policies, wasting of national assets, self-enrichment through ill-gotten gains and blatant graft, among other sinister deeds.
Thaksin has so far has responded with lawsuits, demanding Bt500 million in compensatory damages. More libel suits are expected, together with a court restraining order for Sondhi to cease and desist from making foul remarks or public criticism of the CEO.
Before Sondhi managed to attract a big following, and in particular the huge crowd on Friday (which looked pleased at hearing someone unafraid to speak about the government's misdeeds), Thaksin took things in stride, believing that his nemesis's credibility and popularity would soon run out of steam. As it became clear that people were continuing to pay attention to Sondhi, the PM grew more anxious.
Political underlings within Thai Rak Thai, sensing that the boss was in trouble, undertook legal measures with flimsy charges of lese-majesty against Sondhi. This shows just how hard Thaksin is being pushed to shaky ground.
The cronies and clowns behind the legal tricks want to show that they can take the initiative. At least, they reasoned, their moves would keep Sondhi busy with mounting a legal defence and slow down his weekly verbal offensives.
Yet Friday's rally proves that Sondhi's support, to the contrary, is growing.
Thaksin and his people have yet to come up with the right strategy and response. A legal recourse might work. The outrageous damages sought would scare off most people. But not Sondhi, who has gone through the worst, including a brief jail term and a period, from which he recently emerged, when he was bankrupt.
Thaksin might note that it's not a good PR move to demand half a billion baht from a man who has just become legally solvent. Another misfire is that there is no reason on Earth why Thaksin would want the money, which is peanuts by his own standards of wealth - a standard that puts him on a par with the world's billionaires and mega-rich.
Sondhi has the upper hand right now because he has nothing to lose. Standing against the country's most powerful figure in every sense is a real challenge and he can respond in any manner, come hell or high water. What's more, the die-hard journalist knows Thaksin very well, and knows more than what has been publicly revealed.
Despite the gradual success at pushing Thaksin into a corner, Sondhi has not been able to gain support from any respectable figures or public pressure groups because they still view him with wariness, not knowing when he might mend the broken ties if offered tempting terms and conditions.
His plea to two major mass-circulation newspapers to fulfil their journalistic responsibility has fallen on deaf ears.
Sondhi has more work to do before the urban middle class really buys his arguments. Meanwhile, his CDs lambasting Thaksin are selling like hot cakes, especially in the provinces.
His popularity looks sustainable, and able to last until he is shut up, by legal or sinister means.
In most ways, the two deserve each other. They are a perfect match, much like a cobra and a mongoose. Emboldened with zeal, Sondhi now wants the public to forget about his past support of Thaksin. The ultimate mark of his success in doing this would be toppling Thaksin. Then, he believes, he would redeem himself.
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