ABSTRACT
Kingship constitutes a device of symbolic protection ensuring the durability of the social fabric and as such embodying it for its population; democracy delegates the responsibility of administering a territory to elected representatives for limited terms. The government faltered in face of the crisis: the president of the King’s Privy council, General Prem, briefly envisaged the formation of a government of “national unity,” while Chavalit considered declaring a state of emergency. With 40% abstention, Thaksin thus obtained 56.5% of the votes cast, or two-thirds of the seats. Notwithstanding that the results obtained for the 100 seats attributed by proportional representation gave him an even clearer victory than in the constituencies. Although Thaksin resumed leadership of the government to expedite current affairs, his relations with the palace continued to deteriorate.
