After tomorrow's rally, it should become clear whether the ''storm'' Gen Boonlert Kaewprasit has brewed will be in a tea cup or ignite a fresh round of a mass anti-government undercurrents.
Boonlert: Promises graft evidence
Success or failure of the rally that the retired general plans to organise at the Royal Turf Club will depend on the size of the turnout.
Claiming to wear a ''colourless'' shirt, alluding to his stance toward no particular political camp, Gen Boonlert has caught the attention of the general public and the influential who will be watching how the gathering under the banner Pitak Siam (Protecting Siam) will pan out.
Some analysts say it will be interesting to hear the noise the gathering will make, whether it is a dull thud or an explosion.
Gen Boonlert says the rally is expected to draw a diverse group of people, united by love for the country and the monarchy and disgust at the Yingluck Shinawatra administration's alleged corruption and incompetence.
He insists the government has not lifted a finger to prosecute those elements which have directed incessant and offensive criticism against the monarchy.
The government has shown itself to be nothing more than a puppet of ousted premier Thaksin, the elder brother of Prime Minister Yingluck, he claims.
Gen Boonlert warns evidence on allegations of government corruption will be revealed at the rally.
The general may be a novice when it comes to political activism but he leads a high profile as president of the Thailand Boxing Association (TBA) which has replaced the Amateur Boxing Association of Thailand.
He has established strong connections with bigwigs in international amateur boxing.
However, Gen Boonlert has announced he will quit as TBA president. He promised before the 2012 Olympics that he would resign as TBA president if his team failed to win gold in London.
Kaew Pongprayoon, the country's hope for a gold medal in the London Olympics, received a silver after his controversial loss to a Chinese opponent. Gen Boonlert's stint as TBA president will officially end when a new chief is elected.
Despite his lack of an active political role, Gen Boonlert counts a lot of prominent military top brass among his close friends.
He is president of the Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School Alumni Foundation, president of Class 1 of the Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School (AFAPS) and the classmate of former prime minister and privy councillor Gen Surayud Chulanont at the AFAPS.
A military source said Gen Boonlert is widely respected by many top-ranking military officers, past and present.
He may not be well-versed in the arts and science of political machinations but he knows a lot of people who are.
One of them is Chartthaipattana Party chief adviser Maj Gen Sanan Kachornprasart. Gen Boonlert was a close aide who had worked with Maj Gen Sanan in running the Royal Turf Club.
Gen Boonlert is also trusted by Privy Council president Prem Tinsulanonda and by Gen Prem's inner circle.
The source said tomorrow's gathering will give people growing increasingly frustrated with the government something to look forward to. But how many of them will show up is another matter.
Bhumjaithai misses the boat
When Bhumjaithai announced some time ago it was playing the opposition role ''constructively'', tongues wagged that the party was planning on joining the government.
The announcement came at the swearing in of Anuthin Charnvirakul as party leader. He succeeded his father, Chavarat, the former interior minister.
Anuthin: Wants ‘modern’ MPs
The party has been treated with a degree of suspicion by some political experts who reckon it is playing a waiting game to get a seat at the banquet table.
This is despite the seemingly irreconcilable differences with Pheu Thai after leading Bhumjaithai stalwarts went out of their way to support the Democrat Party, which put Abhisit Vejjajiva in the prime minister's seat in the previous government.
If the latest cabinet reshuffle had not come out of the blue after lengthy and determined denials that it would occur, it would have allowed further time for political pundits to speculate on the possibility of Bhumjaithai making the jump.
Government insiders had ruled out Bhumjaithai's chances, saying the party would most likely spend the entire term of the administration _ which could be several more years _ warming the opposition benches.
Sources in the government have said there is no place for Bhumjaithai.
Bhumjaithai, meanwhile, is being steered by Mr Anuthin who has the ambitious goal of revamping the party and serving people from all walks of life.
The party has coined a slogan, ''Populism for a Better Society'', while harnessing information technology to strengthen its electoral foothold.
The party, with the bulk of its constituents based in the lower Northeast, wants to move faster on the information super highway. It regularly updates news of its activities and posts messages on its official website to keep constantly in touch with voters.
Party MPs have also been told by the new leader to maintain communication channels with the people and this is done by opening personal Facebook accounts to receive complaints from those in need of help.
Cyber links create a web of communications that expand the party's outreach. They are also convenient tools for pulling off public relations exercises.
The party leader has promised to foot the bill for the online public outreach campaign, said a party source.
As those in the know have speculated, the government will stay on to complete its four-year term. They insist Bhumjaithai needs to redouble its efforts to enlarge its strongholds and make up for its eroded bargaining power in politics.
No seat again for Jatuporn
When royally approved, the latest cabinet reshuffle will mark the third time that red-shirt co-leader Jatuporn Prompan has been excluded from the coveted line-up.
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra was quick to give Mr Jatuporn a word of consolation. She said no one should be led into believing that those who missed out on a cabinet appointment this time round will not have a shot at a post in a future shake-up.
Mr Jatuporn has been waiting patiently _ or maybe otherwise _ since the government came to power last year for a cabinet portfolio despite bold promises from ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra, the de facto leader of the ruling Pheu Thai Party.
Jatuporn: ‘Next time’ promise
Thaksin declared at a red-shirt gathering to remember the political violence two years ago that Mr Jatuporn would definitely be handed a cabinet seat that would make the red shirts proud.
However, the sugar-coated promise fell flat as Mr Jatuporn did not make the cut for a prime seat in the latest reshuffle.
Promises unfulfilled may be as hurtful as a loss of face. Fellow red shirt co-leader Nattawut Saikuar has been sitting pretty as deputy agriculture minister and managed to survive two previous cabinet reshuffles intact.
Mr Nattawut's tenacity is unquestionable but his performance is a different story, according to critics.
The depressed rubber price is far from resolved, leading farmers to converge in sporadic street protests.
But not only has he dodged the axe, Mr Nattawut has now been appointed as deputy commerce minister, which some observers deem a promotion.
However, it has been observed that his shift to the Commerce Ministry is more tactical than suitable.
Mr Nattawut, with his strong oratory and public-speaking skills, has been hauled from the Agriculture Ministry to help Commerce Minister Boonsong Teriyapirom counter the opposition in the censure debate expected at the end of next month, said the observers.
Meanwhile, Mr Jatuporn can do nothing but watch the less senior Mr Nattawut hop from one ministry to another while being patted on the back himself and given a ''next time'' promise.
A source said party members are aware Mr Jatuporn faces many legal entanglements in court from his role in past mass protests and public addresses and that could be what is standing in the way of him being given a juicy ministerial slot.
He is embroiled in almost 40 legal cases compared with fewer than 10 protest-related cases for Mr Nattawut.
The source offered an optimistic theory, saying the prime minister may have decided to keep Mr Jatuporn out of the cabinet because she wanted him to concentrated on mounting a defence in court.
Mr Jatuporn, however, may find reason to doubt the promises that have come his way. There is no telling if or when Thaksin will return home from exile as a free man.
That leaves Ms Yingluck as his only hope of turning promises into reality.