Yingluck Shinawatra's invocation of the emergency decree on Tuesday evening _ a serious misstep of the ruling Pheu Thai Party _ will only draw more support for the anti-government groups that have been attempting to overthrow her government for the past three months.
It's just the latest of several key mistakes in the government's 30-month tenure.
Her government has failed, or simply does not care, to address activists' concerns over bleeding populist schemes such as rice pledging, infrastructure investment and dam construction, among many others.
The final straw that drew large crowds onto the street was the government's ignorant and defiant push for a blanket amnesty bill that would have whitewashed her corruption-tainted brother in exile, Thaksin Shinawatra.
The emergency decree was used by the Abhisit Vejjajiva administration at the height of the bloody crackdown against the red shirts in April-May 2010.
The decree has also been in place to contain the southern insurgency for a decade.
Why can't Ms Yingluck and her advisers see that putting Bangkok under a state of emergency is simply suicidal? Many of her red-shirted supporters simply sighed as soon as they saw the belligerent caretaker Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yubamrung going on TV to announce it.
The decree can be seen as an attempt by the government to instill some sense of law and order in Bangkok where business and residential areas have been blocked by protesters under the "Bangkok shutdown" operation since Jan 13.
The 60-day state of emergency, beginning yesterday, covers Bangkok, Nonthaburi and Pathum Thani (only Lat Lum Kaew district where the Thaicom satellite station is located) and Samut Prakan (only Bang Phli district where Suvarnabhumi airport is situated).
The emergency measures allow the government to impose curfews, detain suspects without charge, censor the media, ban political gatherings of more than five people and declare parts of the country off-limits. The government believes it is a crucial tool to ensure the Feb 2 election goes ahead.
The decree may have helped the government feel more secure as tanks and other military equipment have not yet returned to the barracks. They were brought for a military parade in Bangkok on Jan 18.
The number of attacks at protest sites has been growing. Nine people have been killed and hundreds injured since November.
But the government can govern the nation legitimately only if voters support it.
True, the People's Democratic Reform Committee, led by Suthep Thaugsuban, has been provocative.
The protesters block roads, cut off water and electricity and telecommunications to ministers' homes, and besiege ministries as they attempt to bring an end to the Shinawatra clan's influence over politics, and install an interim government and unelected people's council.
But Ms Yingluck and her advisers should not lose patience.
Doing so would repeat the same mistake made by the conservative elite during the Sept 19, 2006 coup when people were already on the streets to oust then prime minister Thaksin.
Should the emergency decree go awry, a surge of anti-government sentiment among the public would result, in the same way the 2006 coup triggered anti-military sentiment and pushed pro-democracy people into the arms of Thaksin.
Or the same way the Abhisit cabinet's military crackdown on the reds' siege of the Asean summit in Pattaya inflamed the reds' hatred for the Democrats.
I wonder if Ms Yingluck and her advisers have contemplated the possible adverse impacts of the decree. Or perhaps they simply do not believe in the people power phenomenon that gives birth to the legitimacy of her government.
Of course, there are no immediate means to end the stalemate. It will take at least a few more years to forge common ground. But if the government sticks to restraint and firmly adheres to force as a last resort, it has a chance to win the backing of the moderate public.
Actually, there have been signs of public irritation and anger over the PDRC's increasingly belligerent moves. Many independent groups and individuals across the nation are calling the protesters to respect their right to vote.
For those who are against the government, they can tick the "No vote" box to show their defiance in a democratic way.
As long as people go out to vote, the results could be weighed and accepted by the public. Overseas ballots and advance voting are also under way. Another thing they should do is push the coalition partners to do more to help keep people's faith in the election.
Pheu Thai itself should also invest more in campaigning on its policy platform if it really means to keep the system up and running.
The government should also show a commitment to reform by involving stakeholders in a transparent and accountable manner. At present, what it's doing is only ritualistic.
Otherwise, the Feb 2 election will take place under a climate of fear. We might also end up with reform taking place under the thumb of a dictatorship.
Achara Ashayagachat is Senior News Reporter, Bangkok Post.