Thaksin faces court challenge

Mr Thaksin has appeared in court to deny corruption charges

By Jonathan Head
South East Asia correspondent, BBC News

It was a quintessential Thaksin moment. The crowds waiting outside the Supreme Court, clutching pink roses, had hope written across their faces.

"Corruption?" pondered Yothin Suthep, a hotel receptionist, when I asked what he thought about the charges against Mr Thaksin. "I think nobody is clean. But he worked, he did things. The economy was going up, going well."

And then the man himself, emerging after 20 minutes, grinning and being mobbed like a film star. As if on cue an elderly Buddhist monk wandered into view, and the former prime minister gave him a respectful wai - the traditional Thai greeting. It could almost have been choreographed for prime-time. Perhaps it was.

There has never been a political showman like Thaksin Shinawtra in Thailand. He has an uncanny instinct for tapping public affection - and for stirring up less favourable reactions among the sceptics.

"When he's on good form he's brilliant," I was told by someone who has known Mr Thaksin for many years. "But when he's not, he's his own worst enemy."

And Thaksin Shinawatra has unquestionably been on top form since he returned from exile at the end of February.

The newly-elected government, comprised mainly of Thaksin loyalists, has vanished from the front pages of the newspapers; new Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, chosen by Mr Thaksin to lead his new party and himself no slouch when it comes to showmanship, is hardly talked about any more.

We could almost be back in the days when Mr Thaksin ruled the political landscape, a prime minister with the country at his feet.

But we are not.

Frozen assets

He is clearly delighted to be back home. But he is nervous. First, about the legal cases against him.

By the standards of the corruption which is accepted as routine in Thai politics, they do not amount to much.

The generals who overthrew Mr Thaksin claimed as justification for their coup that his administration had been the most corrupt in Thai history.

Mr Thaksin's wife, Pojamarn, also faces corruption charges

But after many months of investigating, they were able to bring only two charges to court - that he had used his influence to help his wife buy government land at a favourable price, and that he concealed a continued personal stake in the huge family telecoms business, Shin Corporation.

But these could still result in a 10-year prison sentence. And while they continue - and the wheels of Thai justice do tend to turn at a glacial pace - the nearly $2bn the Thaksins made from selling Shin Corp remains frozen by the Thai banking authorities.

He also fears for his life. He is now using an armour-plated car, with a police escort. There is no history of assassinating former prime ministers in Thailand, but Mr Thaksin has very powerful and bitter enemies.

So gone is the brash, swaggering politician of old who rode roughshod over his opponents. In his place, a man who is all politeness and uncharacteristic humility.

"My mistakes were because of good intentions, to drive the country forwards," Mr Thaksin told a group of foreign journalists the day before his court hearing at the headquarters of the new, charitable foundation he has set up just opposite the royal palace in Bangkok.

"I may have been too aggressive, I wanted to move the country faster. But maybe there were some who were not happy, who resisted the changes I wanted to make."

What is most striking about the "new" Thaksin is his repeated insistence that he has left politics for good. There is scarcely a soul in Thailand who believes this - neither the millions who desperately want to see him back in the driving seat, nor the millions who just as desperately hope it will not happen. But he is unequivocal.

"I will never want to come back. And my wife and my family keep telling me we should spend the rest of our time together, for the rest of our lives.

"We should not go back into politics. I have several things to do for my family and my country without being a politician. When I left politics all the conflicts died down - another reason why I'd better quit politics."

Football concerns

Thitinan Pongsudhirak from Chulalongkorn University remains unconvinced.

"Even if he is sincere it can only be a short-term promise," he says. "Even if he wanted to leave politics, politics will keep coming to him."

So could these apparently heartfelt pledges by the former prime minister be just another performance from the consummate political actor?

Mr Thaksin is still bound by the five-year ban on holding political office imposed on him last year. Nobody can tell whether it will be lifted. Nor can he yet be sure of the outcome in his legal cases, or how long they will last.

Meanwhile he has plenty to occupy him. The People Power Party, which he is presumed to be financing, has made a mess of its first two months in office. One of his motives for coming back so quickly to Thailand is believed to be to control maverick Prime Minister Sundaravej, although he denies ever discussing politics with him.

He is also keen to protect his investment in Manchester City Football Club. After an early winning streak the team has slipped down the English Premier League, and Mr Thaksin will spend the next three to four weeks in the UK trying to improve its performance.

It could make perfect sense to keep a low political profile domestically - while dashing around the world one moment, and distributing charitable largesse to the needy in Thailand the next.

All the while preparing for the moment, maybe several years away, when the popular clamour for him to return to the political arena becomes too great for him to resist.