With the removal of the Manopakon administration, and the cor responding strengthening of the authority of the Peoples Party, Wichit's political loyalties, which had formerly been with the royalists, shifted dramatically towards the new regime. Wichit was nothing if not a pragmatic, and one might even say, opportunistic individual, as it seems clear that he wanted to side with whichever group was in the ascendent. The first public indication that his political orientation was changing carne shortly after the 20 June 1993 coup when he became a second- category member of the reconvened National Assembly. At the same time his writing began to take on a more political note. Significantly he no longer criticized the government, but sought to provide ideas for overcoming the political difficulties it faced. The overthrow of Phraya Manopakon made the question of political legitimacy based on the monarchy problematic. While the government continued to base its legitimacy on the throne after 20 June, the irreconcilable differences between members of the old and new order suggested that this form of support would be unworkable in the long term. Wichit tacitly acknowledged this problem in an article published in Duang prathip on 25 June, entitled "Lathi chu chat" [Nationalisn] He argue d that the time had come when it was crucial to have an ideology (udon klat) stressing the importance of the development of the nation. if such a course were followed, he claimed, Siam would progress like Japan and various European states, where nationalism had long been promoted among the people. With little sense of modesty, Wichit saw himself as the leading figure in mounting this ambitious project