Chai Ratchawat's political cartoon Phuyai Ma Kap Thung Ma Moen might be popular, but it has never been quite so controversial as when he assigned the prefix of ''evil'' to Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.
Chai: Put Thai Rath under pressure
The commotion he has stirred stems from a message he posted on a personal Facebook account which has gone viral.
The posting, seen by critics as offensive to Prime Minister Yingluck, has riled red shirts and the prime minister's aides.
Dozens of red shirts mobilised by former MP Laddawan Wongsriwong protested outside Thai Rath head office to demand action be taken against the cartoonist.
Meanwhile, Ms Yingluck assigned a lawyer to lodge a complaint with police against Chai, real name Somchai Katanyatanan, for defamation.
These moves have put Thai Rath executives in a difficult position. Red shirts form a sizeable slice of the newspaper giant's readership.
However, putting pressure on Chai is not an easy thing since he is widely respected as an accomplished comic journalist.
A source close to the contentious issue says the prime minister's close aides have approached Thai Rath president Khunying Praneetsilpa Vacharaphol and are attempting to pull a few strings, while the Thai Rath management is just hoping the storm will soon fizzle out.
And that indeed might have happened had the Information and Communication Technology Ministry not joined the fray by threatening legal action and closure of websites which offend the prime minister.
The ICT Ministry's intervention has rattled Chai's supporters and hordes of social network users have vowed online defiance against the closure threat.
The prime minister then suffered another indignity when www.opm.go.th, the official website of the Office of the Prime Minister, was hacked and flagged with a message insulting her intelligence and sexual morality.
Some political observers are of the opinion that the prime minister's staff have brought this minefield on themselves.
They say the premier's aides are trying too hard to please her. The harder they push, the harder the other side pushes back, noted a senator on Facebook.
It is not the first time Chai has made political headlines.
The ruling Pheu Thai Party got it in the neck from him a few months ago when he urged Bangkok voters to cast their ballots for Democrat candidate MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra and keep the city out of Pheu Thai's political grip.
''It's not that I am terribly fond of MR Sukhumbhand. I just hate the Phao Thai Party
[Burning Thailand Party, referring to Pheu Thai] so much that I can't let it seize Bangkok,'' was part of his comment.
The cartoonist is unfazed by threats. He insists on being the voice of those people who do not bow to political pressure.
Chai Ratchawat also takes a swipe at Tarit Pengdith, chief of the Department of Special Investigation, for being quick to serve Pheu Thai's interests following the change in government.
As for the nasty message on the hacked website of the Office of the Prime Minister, it was clearly an attempt at dissent to let the government know that the line over free expression has been crossed.
Ms Yingluck can expect more of this as her critics do not seem to be the kind who will back down easily, observers say.
A lone cry in the wilderness
Alongkorn: Battling his leaders
Democrat list-MP Alongkorn Ponlaboot is noted for taking party reform seriously, but it would appear his endeavours to shake the party out of its lethargy are not being given due consideration.
A source in the opposition party says the lukewarm response by senior figures to Mr Alongkorn's call for internal reform is an indication that there are rifts within the ranks.
Some political experts have also queried the party's commitment to change.
Mr Alongkorn has backed calls for the introduction of a US-based primary system of selecting party candidates to stand in all levels of elections.
The system favours a bottom-up approach whereby local party members get to debate the qualifications of the Democrats' potential candidates and finally nominate them.
Mr Alongkorn has tweeted a message to party members urging them to be receptive to criticism and comments on an internal overhaul.
He also says the Democrats should not make generalisations about people who criticise the party as being opposed to it.
Mr Alongkorn's views and his contributions have not won enthusiastic support from party bigwigs, including leader Abhisit Vejjajiva.
Mr Abhisit has been busy with his own reform agenda.
He has been spearheading the so-called ''Blueprint for Change'', which seeks to institutionalise sweeping reform of politics and administration.
The blueprint is Mr Abhisit's mantra _ something he and his supporters believe will help the Democrats secure victory in the next general election.
At the same time, the reclusive Democrat secretary-general Chalermchai Sri-on has come out on Mr Alongkorn's side and seconded his proposed primary system of party candidate selection, the party source said.
Mr Alongkorn and Mr Chalermchai have zeroed in on Central Plains provinces in their campaign to rally support from local party members for the primary system.
The party's executives may have endorsed the new candidacy screening method but they have been rather dismissive of the efforts to put it into practice.
The source said the endorsement was more of a formality meant to stave off any adverse undercurrents within the party.
Only Mr Chalermchai and Mr Alongkorn have been beavering away at introducing the system as they prepare the groundwork for the Democrats in the next general election, which is due in a little more than two years from now.
Mr Alongkorn feels the best answer to the unpleasant characterisation of the party as servile to dictators and an image dresser is to be serious about turning over a new leaf.
New unity effort hits a hurdle
Sira: Unhappy, but determined
Reconciliation is barely taking faltering steps, and even the invocation of religion is failing to spur it on.
The latest reconciliation friction surfaced when Sira Pimklang, of the Secretariat Office of the Prime Minister, wanted to hold a campaign to produce Buddha images titled ''Pra Buddha Rak, Unity and Reconciliation''.
Mr Sira, the secretary-general of the secretariat, who is also known to be a faithful red shirt, recently said a leading figure in the government had blocked the group backing him from meeting Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.
The group had planned to ask the premier to preside over the Buddha image casting ceremony that the group was organising.
The excuse given for Ms Yingluck being unable to take part in the ceremony was that she would be on an official visit to Japan on May 24 when the ceremony is to be held, he said.
Mr Sira was also unhappy at suggestions by those close to the prime minister that the event be hosted at Government House.
Despite these obstacles, Mr Sira affirmed the project _ which he insisted will help bring conflicting parties together _ will be continued for the sake of the country's unity and reconciliation.
Key red-shirt co-leaders, including Deputy Commerce Minister Nattawut Saikuar, Jatuporn Prompan and Nisit Sinthuprai, have thrown their support behind the project, he said.
The red shirts are raising funds for the ceremony, which is expected to cost about 300,000 baht to organise, he added.
The organisers will proceed with the prototype Buddha image casting ceremony on May 24 at Wat Bovorn Nivet Viharn. Invited to the event are highly revered monks, including Luangpu Sai of Lop Buri's Wat Khao Tambon, as well as those from Wat Traimit, Wat Sampantawong and Wat Phukhao Thong.
A separate ceremony will be held in October when the prototype image will be used to reproduce 84 Buddha statues to mark the centenary celebration of His Holiness Somdet Phra Nyanasamvara, the Supreme Patriarch.
Mr Sira said senior figures in the government, the opposition, the judiciary and colour-coded political groups have been invited to attend the event.
The Loy Thai Buddha image will be distributed for enshrinement in the 77 provinces and one each at Government House, the parliament, the Armed Forces Headquarters, the judiciary office and the Democrat Party office.
The statues will also be presented to Privy Council president Prem Tinsulanonda and one of the core leaders of the yellow-shirt People's Alliance for Democracy.
Mr Sira has brushed aside claims by some political elements that his group is out to make ill-gotten gains from the Buddha image project.
He said his group has been trying to contact former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra to request his support for the project.
His group would also send information on the project to the red shirts and business people.