To bind together the opponents to Thaksin, and raise the emotional temperature, Yellow shirt leaders alleged that Thaksin was a threat to the monarchy. In fact, Thaksin had been careful not to attack the monarchy, or be seen as a threat. But the yellow shirts made up a story about Thaksin plotting the overthrow of the monarchy during an excursion to Finland. They dressed themselves in tee-shirts announcing that they were the monarchy’s defenders.
In Thailand’s old politics of oligarchy, the classic strategy at such times of conflict was a military coup. Indeed, that was what occurred on 19 September 2006. But the old politics no longer prevailed. So the coup did not really work. The Army was out of practice at this man oeuvre, and the post-coup government was a disaster, quickly losing all popularity. Because Thailand with its globalized economy needed to be politically acceptable in the world, parliament had to be restored quickly. Despite a massive attempt to rig the election using public funds and public servants, the pro-Thaksin forces won another victory, and could not be prevented from forming the government.