Somehow Abhisit Vejjajiva is a well-mannered gentleman. And it will be unbecoming to demand too much from him.

Even from the Englishmen's perspectives, he could be a whole lot more "English" than ordinary Englishmen!

Educated at Eaton when young, Abhisit later studied politics and economic philosophy at Oxford.

Forcing Abhisit, a Thai national, into this umbilical cord may very likely purge all the Siamese DNAs he has inside his body for the noble blood of the English peers.

The Thai middle class are least perturbed, for they adore everything Western, in particular the British.

In The King and I theatre play or the movie Anna and the King of Siam, a widow hailing from Wales traversed the oceans to the Kingdom of Siam to take up the offer as the English teacher in the imperial court.

She managed to tame everyone in the imperial court into total submission, King Mongkut included, showing that the Siamese were indeed worshipping the West.

The fact that the Thais will never be able to command the English language makes them adore the West even more intensely.

All of a sudden, a Thai with an Eaton background and Oxford accent busted off from the rock, sending the democrats ecstastic.

They put him him high upon the pedestal, and made him the supreme head of the democratic fighters.

In peacetime, perhaps Abhisit could flex his cultural muscle to anglicise Thailand, and bring the country to a new realm of prosperity.

But the problem is, Thailand today has been transported back in time to a state of dissolution reminiscent of the pre-Sukhothai era centuries ago.

When the Red Shirts took the streets in multitude, Abhisit first displayed his well-groomed gentleman style and treated the protests in a genteel manner.

But the Red Shirts didn't seem to appreciate his cultured gesture. They messed up the ASEAN summit, and wanted to hit straight at the prime minister's residence to apprehend him alive.

Now he wants to take the hard stance, but the Red Shirts vow to fight him till the last drop of blood.

Abhisit has been too well cultured that he would not want to blow things up out of proportion and have his name stained in history.

He has to count his luck to have come face to face with people like Thaksin Shinawatra.

Born a not-so-noble commoner, Thaksin is a strong advocate of populism and an absolutely powerful manipulator of the masses.

This, coupled with his immense family wealth, has made him overwhelmingly successful in moving public emotions.

Fortunately, Abhisit still has the support of the royalty, privy council and military, which should allow him to get tough with Thaksin for quite some time.

And Thailand will continue to get enmeshed in the violent power play as such. -- My Sin Chew / Asia News Network