Mrs Al Fakhem is Thai and a political analyst. The problems at Suvarnabhumi are simply symptomatic for the entire Thaksin era, where cronies could get away with anything as long as they supported Thaksin in his quest for limitless power. One has to see the wider picture. His goal was the time after the present King Bhumipol, who is ailing. Thaksin had loaned Prince Vajiralongkorn, the heir to the throne, massive amounts of money (the Thai royal family is not as rich as people might believe) and then "purchased" a palace from him at a throwaway price. The obvious conclusion that the Thai public (and King Bhumipok, who is 80) were drawing is that Thaksin was getting a hold over the Crown Prince to the extent that the latter could no longer be seen as a moral authority (as his father, the current King, is) or - even worse - that the Crown Prince might not even accept the throne and Thailand would adopt a presidential system, such as the US, with Thaksin at the helm. The Suvarnabhumi project was simply a stepping stone for Thaksin to consolidate his power base - something that went very wrong.
Last edited by Al Fakhem; 23rd December 2006 at 05:31.