Have you heard rumours about a possible coup, self-made coup or counter coup?
I have, several times a day during the past week.
What quaint terminology. Nobody talks about coups any more. It's now called "military intervention".
The new form of military putsch _ if sold as a package deal with a large enough street protest _ can even be sanctioned by liberty-loving superpowers.
The world has moved on. Even the crude, old coups of yore have moved on. But Thai politics _ politicians or policy makers _ remains steadfastly attached to the same old yarn.
A few issues have dominated this country's political life _ constitutional changes and amnesty laws, mainly.
Each time these issues build up momentum, such as now with the Worachai Hema-sponsored amnesty bill pending parliamentary review tomorrow, a street protest materialises. An internal security law is invoked. And rumours of a possible coup fly around.
Another old-fashioned remedy to political problems which is the latest fad in this land of obsolescence is the establishment of a "council of elders".
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra kicked off the trend on Friday when she went on television and invited "all stakeholders" to join a "political reform assembly" with the hope they would thrash out all their differences and reconcile.
It must be noted that Ms Yingluck's timing in announcing the setting up of an open forum to chart out the future of the country seemed off.
The announcement, which should have been the highlight of the day _ the PM's brinkswomanship and show of bravery to plough through a political crisis _ fell rather flat.
Responses to the PM's initiative have been less than stellar. The government's chief opponent, the People's Alliance for Democracy, immediately said it will not join her assembly. It does not help that Ms Yingluck was offering an age-old recipe that has proven to produce inedible dishes.
A political reform assembly was set up after the May 1992 deadly clash between pro-democracy demonstrators and the then unelected prime minister Suchinda Kraprayoon. The council was led by respected social critic Prawase Wasi.
While it's true that the Prawase council did produce the highly praised "People's Charter" of 1997, it did not bring about a comprehensive reform of Thai politics as it envisaged, which was to create a stable and efficient political system that was fully accountable to checks-and-balances mechanisms.
Two other reform councils were set up following the April/May 2010 crackdown on red-shirt protesters during the Abhisit Vejjajiva government. One was led again by Dr Prawase, the other by former prime minister Anand Panyarachun.
Both committees recruited some of the best minds available at the time including academics Seksan Prasertkul and Nidhi Eoseewong and spent months researching and preparing their reports. Their recommendations were progressive, including decentralising state power and ensuring public participation in administration and management of natural resources. The result? Most if not all of the suggestions have remained on the shelf. None have been implemented.
We have also had the Truth for Reconciliation Commission, led by former attorney-general Kanit Na Nakorn, and another panel set up by the King Prajadhipok's Institute to determine how Thailand could dodge its political conflicts peacefully. Both committees proposed what needed to be done for the country to move ahead. Both committees' proposals have not been followed through.
Considering the dismal results that the game of setting up political reform committees has produced, it looks like PM Yingluck's latest proposal of having a political reform committee will only be a sideshow. No matter how many big names have been proposed, the so-called council of elders will only be a diversion, a safety valve to help the government cool the political temperature. The crux of the political confrontation has always been and will continue to be the same _ the confrontation between pro- and anti-Thaksin camps.
As for military intervention, it may go by other names and styles. But like the colour black, it's hardly gone out of fashion.
Atiya Achakulwisut is Deputy Editor, Bangkok Post.