At the centre of Laotian politics was the neutralist group led by Prince Souvanna
Phouma, elder half-brother of Prince Souphanouvong. Souvanna Phouma was a
political moderate who tried to sustain a coalition government that included the
Pathet Lao faction. Many people regarded him as an adept, clever politician. But he
was also perceived as naı¨ve and weak towards the communists, partly because of his
expressed belief that his half-brother Souphanouvong was not a communist, and
partly because he had Quinim Pholsena, an extreme leftist, as his deputy.5