Thaksin has done voters a real favour | Bangkok Post: opinion

Has Thaksin Shinawatra made any right decisions of late that will benefit the country? Well, yes, he has. Once.

Looking back, Thaksin made many wrong moves when he reigned over the Thai Rak Thai Party-led government before Gen Sonthi Boonyaratglin and his military cohorts unseated him on Sept 19, 2006. At the time, the billionaire businessman-turned-politician had come very close to genuine statesman status.

Instead, Thaksin ended up facing the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions in 2008 and was sentenced in absentia to two years in jail for abuse of authority in the Ratchadaphisek land deal case. There is a distinct line between becoming a statesman and being power hungry.