The crisis and resulting coup and post-coup military government called into question issues of
media freedom, the role of the constitution in breaking a political deadlock, and the existence of
political stability in Thailand. It also reflected long-term and significant disparity between urban
and rural political orientation and abuses of power and conflict of interest of a democratically
elected leader that have long plagued the Thai political landscape. These issues contributed to the
crisis and culminated in the coup d'état of September 2006.