Updated: They ain’t going home

The Yingluck Shinawatra government now faces a largely self-inflicted crisis that can now easily escalate into something resembling the events of 2008.

The Bangkok Post reports that anti-government groups calling themselves “the Anti-Thaksin Coalition _ comprising civic groups in all 77 provinces, the People’s Democratic Force to Overthrow Thaksinism and the Dhamma Army [Chamlong Srimuang’s lot]” – read PAD reincarnated – now aims, as we predicted, “to expel the government and the heads of the parliament because they have proved to serve the interests of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra…”.

What would this group want in place of the elected government? It seems “major reforms by the people’s council.” What could a “people’s council” be? We imagine it is something like an assembly appointed by notables of the king, or maybe the military following a coup, that would act without election or through some fake process of acclamation.

In other words, representative democratic forms of government will be chucked out.

That will require a palace or military (or combined) intervention a la 2006. A 2008 scenario seems unlikely as the opposition Democrat Party has too few seats to be again hoisted into place.

One more false move by the Yingluck government and it can be brought down – the protesters hope to create that out of the World Court decision tomorrow.

After having insulted, betrayed and condemned red shirts in recent weeks, the government now needs them. Will they rally to it or has the damage been too great?

Update: The Nation is now providing a schedule of anti-government actions for Monday. The newspaper is in full campaign mode (again).