The flying-kick man deserved to be floored by the Supreme Court. But Karun Hongsakul's patch is still a difficult one for the Democrats to crack, even as the man himself is forced to watch the by-election for his old seat in Don Muang from the sidelines.
The court's Election Cases Division delivered a knockout punch to Mr Karun on Thursday by ending his status as an MP and slapping him with a long break from politics _ five years _ as the price to pay for making false accusations against and defaming his main Democrat rival before the July 3, 2011, general election in Don Muang.
There can be no sympathy for him. In fact, Mr Karun should have been given his marching orders from parliament long before this. His flying kick on the floor of the House on April 2, 2008 _ aimed at then-Democrat Party MP Somkiat Pongpaibul _ should have seen him disqualified as a lawmaker. He made himself well known to the public on that infamous day and the kick has marked him ever since.
Mr Karun has now gone from the House, but do not discount his influence when the by-election to replace him as Don Muang's representative in parliament is held on June 13.
His past record stamped his popularity among red-shirt voters in his constituency _ the capital's governor poll two months ago included. MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra won the contest with an unprecedented high vote. But he could not prevail in Don Muang, where the Pheu Thai contender Pol Gen Pongsapat Pongcharoen led by a wide margin, 40,000 to 28,000.
That was preceded by the 2011 election when Mr Karun beat Tankhun Jitt-Itsara _ the object of his campaign vitriol _ by 7,000 ballots, even though the Democrats were hoping to use this young up-and-coming politician and his well-known name to dethrone Pheu Thai in Don Muang.
There is no reason why the Democrats should not give Mr Tankhun another shot at parliament. His ticket is almost guaranteed as party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva and deputy Korn Chatikavanij have given him their backing. First, though, they cannot expect Pheu Thai to give up the seat easily.
The by-election will not change the composition of national politics, nor put Pheu Thai in trouble. It will not disturb the ruling party or Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra in running the show at Government House and parliament. But it is a question of pride for the winner and embarrassment for Mr Karun should the result go the Democrats' way.
The opposition party is being realistic about the fact that a win will be hard to achieve, even though Mr Karun is demoted to a behind-the-scenes role. Don Muang is a solid base for Pheu Thai and the red shirts. That is why the Democrats have never had an MP in this constituency. It will be even more difficult if Pheu Thai decides to field Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan for the by-election to bring her back into the national arena after a long absence.
The only chance for the opposition to break that jinx is the sympathy vote and to lure more Democrat voters to the polling stations on voting day _ basically, the same strategy it deployed to prevent Pheu Thai from taking control of the capital in the Bangkok governor election.
What could give the Democrats an edge in the race is that they have nothing to lose except another defeat at the hands of Pheu Thai. Pressure is on the ruling party to defend its northern Bangkok fortress and the seat in parliament by showing its rival that Don Muang is still off-limits to other parties. Voters in Don Muang will know by tomorrow who will be picked to represent the two parties.
Seeing Mr Karun kicked out of parliament by the court is fair enough. It would be even sweeter to see him pay for bringing about the by-election. This time, the Election Commission will have to spend 10 million baht on the poll, and they should require him to finance it.
Taxpayers do not deserve having to fork out for this. The flying-kick man of Don Muang does.
Saritdet Marukatat is Digital Media News Editor, Bangkok Post