Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva briefs the foreign media - 29 May 2010

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva briefs the foreign media at Government House, Bangkok - 29 May 2010. The national media often has little bite here and the prime minister commands great respect from the station of his office, but the foreign press are less forgiving and the questions fly sharp and fast. Abhisit's wholly capable of the task though, he swats away the difficult questions with relative ease, answering a question with another question as is a politician's trademark, he's well rehearsed and well prepared, today he won't be flying down any blind alleyways. Behind the immaculate suit, the jet-black hair and the dark eyes, he looks tired, the last few months would have taken their toll on anyone and in fractious Thailand he has had to fight fires on all sides. The Reds swept into the city demanding nothing less than his removal from the country's top job, his "softly softly" strategy was roundly criticised by the right, they demanded decisive action to clear the protestors' camps and if he couldn't offer it they suggested he go, while the approach of giving more and more rope at the same time made the Red Shirts feel more and more invincible. His relationship with the soon-to-retire Army Chief Anupong Paochinda was difficult, laid bare by the awkward body language seen between these two key players in one TV appearance, while he is fighting on yet another front as his Democrat Party could face dissolution after a severe ruling by the Electoral Commission which is now grinding through the law courts. On a personal front he has had blood thrown at the gates of his private residence, an action seen on TV screens across the world, and one that would affect any family man. "It's been a very difficult few months to say the least," he says modestly. "Personally I never wanted to see loss of lives; my decisions have to be based on what I feel is right for the country." It's a point he repeats over again, it was up to him, him alone, to do his duty as prime minister, to stand up for the democratic system against a tide of lawlessness, to uphold law and order and restore normality in the city.

Abhisit has been accused by many of seeking to cling onto power, his final offer of a November 14 election if reconcilliation could be achieved in the days of the short lived "road map" were quickly withdrawn after the Reds rejected the olive branch, and instead, the army went in to clear the demonstration. "The point of having early elections to achieve the objective of reconciliation means we should try to find an environment where it truly achieves that objective," he told the journalists. "I'm not here for political gains, that's never been my aspiration as a politician, I joined politics at the age of twenty seven because I wanted democracy to flourish, he added."

The briefing runs to almost exactly the allocated hour and closes with an impassioned statement from Abhisit as he gives the session a personal touch, that he had no choice but to give the orders, to take control and steer the country on its path. The country relied on him, and him alone. "I tried, like no other prime ministers have tried, to seek a peaceful solution," he concluded. "When was the last time a prime minister sat face to face with protest leaders for five hours. When was the last time you saw a prime minister despite protests from his own supporters offering to cut his term short by a year. I have demonstrated every determination to resolve this peacefully, every time I was denied by people who always wanted violence and losses of lives to achieve their goal. That's what it came to, that's why I decided what I decided." Abhisit delivers with a genuineness, but he's too polished, too intelligent and too sophisticated to see through to the real man in just one hour of a formal Q & A session.

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[asianr0se]

You go abhisit , We THAI are very proud to have you as our THAI PM . We love you .

[JanAnn23]

They have tried their best. If you don't wanna die, how come you join this bloody demonstation. Enough for causing damage to our nation. We cannot stand the demonstration any more. Please be united and contribute ourself to our nation before ther is nothing left for us or even for our offsprings. +_+

[tankung69]

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