nemies of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra - and they are legion in Bangkok and among the country's middle classes - have engineered another tactical victory in their long-running campaign to rid the country of his power and influence. On Monday, after several weeks of anti-government demonstrations in Bangkok, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra (Mr Thaksin's sister) dissolved Thailand's Parliament and called a general election - likely to be held on February 2 - two years before her government's term was due to end.
Whether her concession quells the unrest is questionable, however, since those orchestrating it made clear that their preference is not for a new election but for the appointment of an unelected ''people's council'', part of whose task will be to bring about constitutional reforms aimed at ensuring that neither Mr Thaksin, nor his supporters or proxies, wins power again.
That might seem to be a quixotic (and ridiculous) demand in a country whose institutions of government, while not particularly robust, are nonetheless solidly democratic. Yet, far from regarding themselves as wreckers of Thai democracy, those members and supporters of the oddly named Civil Movement for Democracy believe they are on a moral crusade to clean up corruption and set Thailand on the path to ''perfect democracy''.
Their contempt for Mr Thaksin - and seemingly for democracy itself - is rooted in a complex set of grievances ranging from his alleged vote-buying, the suspect nature of his extensive fortune, his less than deferential approach to Thailand's venerated royal family, and his ability to win elections by large margins, both for himself and his proxies.
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