Who runs Thailand?

The Economist asks:

To take the most basic question: who is running the country? It is reasonable to ask. Samak Sundaravej, the prime minister, led the People’s Power Party (PPP) to victory in December’s election by campaigning on policies identical to those of Mr Thaksin, his mentor. Further muddying the waters, the PPP faces a legal threat over alleged vote-buying that might even lead to its disbandment—the fate that met Mr Thaksin’s own Thai Rak Thai party.

The specter of the dissolution of Thailand's ruling party is invitation to political chaos. As a Thai friend said to me yesterday, "These are interesting times for Thai politics."