THAILAND'S REVERED King Bhumibol Adulyadej failed to make his traditional speech on the eve of his birthday yesterday, as the political crisis gripping the country showed no signs of abating even as Bangkok's main airports started ferrying stranded passengers home.
A court ruling this week dissolving the government of Somchai Wongsawat has done nothing to resolve the fundamental power struggle undermining Thailand's stability. The caretaker government has called a special session for Monday to select a replacement for the prime minister.
All sides of the political crisis had been waiting for the annual birthday speech of the king, who over the past four decades has stepped in at key moments to defuse several potentially disastrous political confrontations.
However, the crown princess said the monarch had a throat infection and was on a drip.
Fears of a coup have largely receded as the army is seen as just as much at a loss as anyone else in Thai politics about how to resolve the crisis. The king's address in the last three years has been been closely read for commentary on the long-running political crisis.
The monarch's remarks urging clean government, read out by Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn, were widely interpreted as a swipe at Thaksin Shinawatra, the populist prime minister ousted in a 2006 coup whose residual influence is behind much of the current unrest. Mr Thaksin is also banned from politics and in exile after a corruption conviction.
The monarch, who turns 81 today, has been consistently invoked by the anti-government People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), which occupied Bangkok's main airports and key government buildings in a bid to push for their aims of a "new democracy", which would somehow stop poor farmers in Mr Thaksin's electoral strongholds voting in the government. A majority of parliamentarians would be nominated by professional and social groups instead of being elected.
"Clearly we're not over the rapids yet," said Kraisak Choonhavan, deputy leader of the opposition Democrat Party, whose father, former prime minister Gen Chatichai Choonhavan, was toppled by a coup in 1991. He was strongly opposed to the occupation of civic offices and the airports.
"The king has symbolically refused to give a speech because we have a caretaker government. It's best he did not. People might interpret his speech as interventionist in a political situation, which is basically in a mess. If he said something one way or another it might influence people's opinions. He wants to leave it for the common people to sort it out themselves," said Mr Choonhavan.
One source in the government who requested anonymity agreed that the king's decision was a political one. "The king does not want either side to use his words for their own good in this situation. In the run-up I feared the king wouldn't talk this year. It's very rare and very unusual, I can't remember him missing a speech before," said the source.
The main problem for the opposition is that the government is still financed by Mr Thaksin. And successive rulings against the government means it is running out of credible cabinet members.
"We in the opposition can only sit and watch meekly and do the best we can inside parliament," said Mr Choonhavan. There were still some 230,000 stranded foreign tourists in Thailand although officials said the Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok would resume full services today after a week-long shutdown by PAD protesters.
There was also concern among security officials about the relative ease with which a group of protesters was able to take over Bangkok's two main airports, Suvarnabhumi and Don Muang.