Parts of Bangkok have descended into chaos in recent days as confusion reigns over whether there is any semblance of order on streets where anti-government hardliners have staged frequent rallies.
But what is even more baffling is that the rallies could result in the opposite of what they were intended to accomplish.
An expert in mass communication said the anti-government protest groups are varied and leaderless, at least when the rallies are played out on the streets, and are less organised and more susceptible to agitation.
Several protests which took place in the transport nerve centre of the city were dispersed by police after the two sides engaged in violent clashes.
The source said that from a tactical point of view, the protesters who brandish the flag of the Redem (Restart Democracy) group manoeuvred and acted in predictable ways, mostly culminating in a tense standoff with police that preceded a clash.
The predictability allowed police to map out a counter-strategy and learn from operational errors that led to effective crowd-control measures.
The source said the more unruly the situation looks on the streets, the harder it will be for protesters to win support from the wider population who do not lean toward any political camp.
The chaos and disruption also diverted people's attention from the more urgent matter -- the Covid-19 pandemic crisis.
The source said the protest organisers stepped up the rallies of late as if to capitalise on many people's sense of desperation over increasing infections and social and economic mayhem the pandemic has brought.
The protest organisers would have appealed to more people if they had voiced their thoughts rather than acted them out on the streets. The source said old-fashioned protests might have worked better in getting public backing by sitting the protesters down and having star speakers explain what has gone wrong with government policies and who should be held to account.
The message would have been picked up by the media and people at home would have understood where the protesters stood more clearly.
But anarchic scenes of police vehicles and kiosks being torched have clouded any meaningful message which should have been passed on by the protesters to the people.
At the same time, the political heat on the government caused by pandemic woes has temporarily cooled with public focus diverted from daily infection and fatality tolls.
The source added the protest movement is split into youth-led groups headed by Ratsadon which primarily advocates monarchy reform, among other demands including Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha's resignation, and those whose members are made up of red shirts.
The Redem, on the other hand, counts mainly young people among its members although some older red shirts have mingled with the group and taken part in its activities.
Earlier, a large group of red shirts closely aligned to former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra answered the protest calls made by the Thai Mai Thon (Thais Won't Stand It) group led by Jatuporn Prompan, chairman of the red-shirt United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD).
Jatuporn has since been sent to prison, leaving some Thai Mai Thon red-shirt protesters to join Ratsadon. He has been serving time for defamation, in a case filed against him by former prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.
Observers said the accusation has gone around that the Thai Mai Thon red shirts may be subject to a "steal" by Nattawut Saikuar, a former UDD co-leader.
Mr Nattawut was noted for having commanded a following in some car mob rallies where protesters drive in a convoy of vehicles to sidestep public health and social-distancing restrictions.
But even Mr Nattawut admitted the mostly-young hardline protesters were hard to control.
While the youth-led protest groups had no recognised leaders and were thus more versatile in their activities because they did not have to wait around for instructions from a handful of people, the protesters from various factions did not listen to one another and acted almost impulsively, culminating in violent clashes with the police.
Mr Nattawut himself was unable to convince them to return home at the end of the car mob rallies last Sunday. The young protesters converged on the Din Daeng intersection and were involved in yet another clash with the police.
Mr Nattawut told the protesters that no victory can be achieved through the perpetration of violence. However, he was reportedly ridiculed by one protester who was heard calling him "chicken".
An opposition divided?
Cracks in the opposition camp have reappeared ahead of the planned no-confidence debate to grill the government over its alleged mishandling of the Covid-19 pandemic and incompetence in addressing the economic impacts, according to political observers.
The rift between Pheu Thai and the Move Forward Party came to light after the submission of the censure motion to House Speaker Chuan Leekpai early this week.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and five ministers are being targeted in the upcoming debate, the third of its kind against this administration.
The five cabinet ministers named in the no-confidence motion are Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob, Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Chalermchai Sri-on, Labour Minister Suchart Chomklin and Digital Economy and Society (DES) Minister Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn.
To the disappointment of some MFP supporters, Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon and Deputy Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Thamanat Prompow were nowhere to be found on the opposition's target list.
MFP supporters are wondering why these two highly controversial figures in the cabinet have been let off the hook amid whispers about a "secret deal" possibly struck between the main opposition Pheu Thai and the ruling Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP), led by Gen Prawit.
Some political observers have recently raised the possibility of the two parties burying the hatchet and forming a political alliance in the next government.
With the rise of Capt Thamanat as second in command in the PPRP, anything is possible, according to the observers. The PPRP's secretary-general is known as a man who can get things done and is believed to maintain cosy ties with some opposition MPs.
Prawit: Not on grilling list
In what is being seen as a defence of the party against criticism over the absence of Gen Prawit and Capt Thamanat, MFP MP Rangsiman Rome wrote on his Facebook page that the party had planned to scrutinise Gen Prawit in the upcoming censure debate but it could not press ahead when a meeting of the opposition parties agreed to let him off the hook this time around.
MFP leader Pita Limjaroenrat, meanwhile, said each opposition party had prepared a list of cabinet ministers it wanted to grill. At the end of the day it would have to accept the majority's decision.
However, rumours about a secret deal are not being taken well by Pheu Thai heavyweights who see them as creating unwanted tension and unnecessary noise ahead of the censure debate.
According to a key Pheu Thai figure, Gen Prawit and Capt Thamanat were grilled in the two previous censure debates, and even though the pair were unable to dispel lingering doubts about their ministerial performances, there has been nothing new on them to justify a fresh round of targeting.
The upcoming debate is also about the government's poor handling of the public health crisis and economic problems. Because the men are not directly responsible for solving the Covid-19 pandemic and economic issues, the opposition parties decided to exclude them.
According to the Pheu Thai source, the MFP also refused to reveal the charges they planned to level against Gen Prawit and Capt Thamanat to the other opposition partners -- a move seen as unfair to five other parties who co-signed the censure motion.
Pheu Thai, backed by four other parties, decided to strike Gen Prawit and Capt Thamanat off the censure target list.
"The MFP just can't accuse us of having a secret deal with the PPRP," said the source.
According to the source, Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit was also a potential target but the Democrat Party leader was removed because there was no new information to ramp up attacks against him.
Deputy Public Health Minister Sathit Pitutecha was also on the opposition's radar but it was agreed that the opposition should mobilise its resources and focus on bigger fish such as Mr Anutin.
"There is no hidden agenda. We're targeting only those who we have evidence against," said the source.
According to political observers, despite growing signs of strain between the Pheu Thai Party and the MFP, both parties, whose political bases overlap, have no choice but band together until election time arrives.
The censure debate is expected to take place around the end of this month or early next month pending talks between representatives from the cabinet, the coalition government and the opposition over their work schedules.