Sonthi's comments come as the TRT is in the process of unraveling, with various factions pulling out ahead of the expected government crackdown. Though the coup government has yet to fully solidify its power, Sonthi appears to have made some critical political deals giving him a freer hand to start a more overt assault on Thaksin and the former ruler's remaining supporters.

Gen. Sonthi Boonyaratglin, the head of Thailand's military-backed Council for National Security (CNS), told an audience at the Hat Yai campus of Prince of Songkhla University on Feb. 1 that "political-party dissolution" is coming soon, and suggested that ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's Thai Rak Thai (TRT) party will be broken up. The TRT is currently facing a Constitution Tribunal hearing over accusations of electoral fraud.

Sonthi's comments come as the party's various factions already are starting to jump ship, rejoining the blocs they originally left to form the TRT. Political alliances are beginning to shift away from Thaksin, particularly after former Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh dropped his criticism of the coup regime -- likely the result of a backroom deal between Chavalit and the coup government. As the political reshuffle takes place, the CNS will have a freer hand with which to go after Thaksin and his key supporters, while continuing to buy the silence and noninterference of others.

The interim regime looked extremely weak and vulnerable after the New Year's Eve bombings in Bangkok. Public support for the coup government began to dwindle after it failed to act on the accusations of corruption and mismanagement against Thaksin's regime that were used to justify his ouster. Hastily installed capital controls and the even hastier removal of most of those controls demonstrated the regime's inexperience and its defensive and reactionary policies. Further, the interim regime failed to address the ongoing violence in southern Thailand, despite being backed by the military.

One key political challenge facing the CNS was the influential Chavalit, who initially supported Thaksin's ouster but later turned against the coup government. Following the Bangkok blasts, the CNS went so far as to suggest that the bombings were the work of Chavalit and Thaksin, or at least their supporters. But in recent days, Chavalit has grown silent -- suggesting that the former prime minister once again has shifted allegiances. In Thailand, after all, politics is much more about power, money and influence than ideology, and the military regime appears to have made a better offer than Thaksin.

With Chavalit at least temporarily appeased, the government has set its sights on the south, sending Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont on two high-profile visits and engaging Malaysia in talks over the troubled border region. For the interim government, the tide is turning. Chavalit's withdrawal from the public spotlight has unnerved TRT members, and several of the group's key factions are starting to withdraw from the party, making it likely that the TRT will soon be history even without government intervention.

The factionalization of the TRT gives the ruling government a leg up in dealing with domestic political problems, allowing it to reach smaller negotiated settlements with the TRT factions that are amenable to deals and to attack smaller chunks of the party rather than going after every member or related business interest at once. In a sense, the typical post-coup realignment of business and political interests is beginning to take place.

This is not to say that stability and confidence have returned to Thailand. The regime must still tackle the issues of corruption and mismanagement it used as justification for the coup. The very public shutdown of part of Suvarnabhumi Airport is part of its assault on Thaksin's former government, with the problems being linked to bid rigging and corruption in the construction process. In addition, the Department of Special Investigation is releasing "new" information about the New Year's Eve bombings, suggesting that the police force (which is headed by a Thaksin ally), did not do a good enough job reviewing evidence in the case.

With the TRT coming apart, Chavalit silenced and Thaksin's remaining ally on the police force tacitly accused of ineptitude, the military-backed government has an opportunity to solidify its control, focus attention on the south and regain public trust and support. But with promises of elections this year, the regime has a limited amount of time before there are calls for a more rapid return to democratic government. The regime has bought itself some time, but its ability to retain stability in the quickly changing realm of Thai politics remains in question.