December 8 , 2005 - Against the backdrop of the showdown between Thaksin and Sondhi, our revered King gave everyone a special treat. One political scientist calls it “art of the highest form”. But whatever term is used to describe His Majesty the King’s birthday speech – we have heard everything from “simple” to “profound” – there’s no avoiding the fact that people are feeling the varying effects it generated.

And most questions in its wake revolve around one man in the front row of the Sala Dusitalai on Sunday.

Of course, it was a royal lecture for Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, but just how much heat must he have felt when sitting in there and when leaving the Chitralada Palace? Well, high art is often open to interpretations.

Political observers have different opinions. But even more so in the pro- and anti-Thaksin camps. There are those who think the prime minister was shot with a stun gun, while others believe that, considering the volatile political circumstances, the “slap on the wrist” was the best he could have expected.

One senior editor at The Nation pointed out that to judge the effects of the monarch’s speech on Thaksin, not only the “intent” should be taken into account. The King’s sincere thoughts on democracy, reflected throughout the speech, could also embarrass the prime minister, although His Majesty surely did not mean to.

For example, some consider the following royal statement as stinging:

“[Under] previous kings, even rebels were not sent to jail, were not punished. King Rama VI did not punish rebels. During [the time of] King Rama IX, who were the rebels? Actually, there had never been. I also followed the same way: Do not send them to jail, but release [them]. If they are in jail, release them. If they are not in jail, I will not sue because I am in trouble. A person who is insulted is in trouble. People who violate the King, and are punished are not in trouble but the King is in trouble. This is strange. Lawyers like to launch suits and send them to jail.

“Lawyers teach the PM, telling him to sue, to punish. This is how they teach the PM. Who said to punish? Do not punish them. Punishment is not good ... ”

In effect, such a statement showed His Majesty is more democratic than a democratically elected prime minister. Thaksin’s abrupt decision on Tuesday to withdraw all the suits against his arch-rival Sondhi Limthongkul came as little surprise.

Then there was the “teasing” at the beginning of his speech:

“I thank you for making people here and outside happy that you spoke well. I have no idea whether there may be some people who disagree with my compliments that the PM speaks well. Saying this, I create trouble for myself because if I compliment the PM some other people may not compliment me for complimenting the PM. They may question why I compliment the PM. But we have the PM for complimenting. If you have the PM, and you do not compliment, the PM may not be satisfied. If the PM is not satisfied, how can the work be managed?”

There may be no need to translate this, the anti-Thaksin camp insists, because the last sentence says it all.

The teasing about “the plane” came later and it must have made Thaksin squirm: “Now there are some aircraft that run on biodiesel but they are not the big ones. In the future, big planes like the one now used by the prime minister might be able to run on biodiesel.”

“The King’s speech is an art of the highest form,” said political scientist Trakoon Meechai. However, the academic believed that the monarch meant to mediate between Thaksin and Sondhi by pointing at their prospective graceful exits.

But how forlorn Thaksin looked when he left the Royal Palace. Thai Rak Thai spokesman Sita Divari surprised many when he told the media it was clear that His Majesty’s speech was not a royal lecture for Thaksin. Sita based his argument on one part of the King’s statement that said: “The one who is nodding right there is not wrong.”

Other academics see Thaksin’s reaction as that of a scolded boy. “He has become very sombre,” said another well-known political scientist, Sukhum Nualsakul. “The withdrawal of lawsuits is a good gesture, but I dare not say this new attitude will be here to stay.”

Chulalongkorn political scientist Chaiyand Chaiyaporn said what society thinks of Thaksin was reflected on the prime minister at the Chitralada Palace on Sunday.

The following royal statement may reinforce this observation:

“Do not speak every day. Actually they [lawyers] do not speak every day but they record on tapes, DVDs and distribute to people. People listen and watch, they are fed up with it, for making excuses on behalf of the PM. Today I am here to make an excuse on behalf of the PM because the PM is not wrong. The PM can do everything. No need to go on air on the TV, on air on the TV every day. Someone told me that people are fed up. But if you have a duty to go on air on the TV, then go. There are some people in trouble on the programme – they have to speak out. People who spoke out then were hit with stray bullets. However, it is ok to make excuse one time, but it has been 10 times for going on air. People are getting fed up. They want to see soap dramas.”

The Nation