With Thailand on the edge, there is one man who could yet save the nation

WITH his slim features, impeccable manners and winning smile, 44-year-old Abhisit Vejjajiva appeared like a boy sent to do a man’s job. The Thai prime minister was passing through Europe last month trying to reassure international investors and I was asked along to hear him speak.

After the formalities, he mingled and introduced himself. I made the right noises about his speech and he gave me another of his smiles and a wai, the traditional Thai bow accompanied by a pressing together of the palms. This week, with Bangkok erupting, we have an opportunity to judge how far charm will get “Veggie”, as he is known to those of his friends who are unable to pronounce his surname.

His long-term prospects might appear dim. He, however, is not. Born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne of all places, his parents sent him to Eton, the grandest of the English boarding schools. Unlike some of his contemporaries, though, he worked hard and progressed on to Oxford where he gained a first-class degree. What use is all that refinement and intellect, though, when he is up against a consummate street-fighter like the exiled former PM, Thaksin Shinawatra? Thaksin is best known here as the one-time owner of Manchester City football club but in middle-class Thai circles his name is a byword for questionable business ethics and rotten human rights record.