The New Year is almost upon us and we should get ready for a hodgepodge of a party.
The theme is Thai-style democracy, with a German-modelled electoral system, French-inspired law and a social order preferably based on strict Confucianism.
The various demands currently being discussed mean we should be in for an exciting time in the name of national reform.
As chief charter writer Bowornsak Uwanno pointed out, his task of coming up with the new constitution is like supervising the preparation of kaeng som — hot and sour soup — by dozens of chefs.
The pot is not even on the stove yet and not a single vegetable is on the cutting board, yet there is a clamour in the kitchen, with suggestions of what magical ingredients to put in the soup.
The whole process is certainly Thai-style, I have to admit.
Some chefs want to make a constitutional soup to end all conflicts.
They want it to contain a sweetener in the form of an amnesty clause. Without forgiving one another for transgressions made in the past, how could we leave the resentment behind and eat together from the same pot in the future?
Other chefs, and a large number of bystanders according to opinion polls, are cheering for the dish to be made in a non-traditional way, with the unprecedented direct election of the prime minister and cabinet.
These people hope such a modification would end the so-called tyranny of the majority when members of parliament and government function as one apparatus and not two mechanisms that monitor each other.
There are also drafters who would like the hot-pot constitution be the one that ends all possibility of another coup. And those who want to see it as the last charter — the ultimate super-deal to govern Thai society forever, the political contract that can't be fixed.
Mr Bowornsak is right in saying the drafter chefs are currently just flaunting the different recipes that they believe will make the best kaeng som.
No decision has been made on whose formula will finally be chosen, and won't be until the first draft is available in July next year.
From what has been put on the table, however, it's already difficult to imagine how the 36 charter drafters will be able to cook a single pot of kaeng som that will please all the starkly different palates.
And this is just taking into account the expectations of people on the same side: those who are supportive of the coup and the ongoing reform process.
If we consider the viewpoints of those who are not participating in the process — either by force or by choice — it is possible they don't even want a kaeng som to be the basis of the new constitution.
Aside from that, there are possibly some people who are considering closing down the kitchen altogether if it looks like the soup might not come out to their taste. That is why the warning about a counter-coup or repeat coup has been floated.
As things stand now, it's quite clear the formation of the new charter, or the reform process as a whole, remains a possible trigger for yet another round of conflicts, no matter how open it is made to be.
That is why I believe it will be useless for the drafters or members of the public to raise their expectations for the document too high. Should the constitution be a master document to forge reconciliation? I don't believe so. Should it be a recipe to support national reform? I don't think it can serve that purpose either.
Like it or not, we will have to admit the new constitution is just part of a transit to democracy. It is not the answer to our disagreements in itself.
The best that the new charter could do is to serve as a bill of rights, a guarantee of people's freedom and liberties as they move forward to the next election. To expect it to be anything more than that would be unrealistic.
After all, do we really believe that coming up with a new way of voting will unify people from all political shades?
Making kaeng som with sauerkraut, brie cheese and pickled bean curd would be easier.
Atiya Achakulwisut is Contributing Editor, Bangkok Post.