They will attach no credence to an undertaking he gave yesterday, at a news conference, that he would not return to the political stage. 'I just want to enjoy the last stages of my life with my family, in my country. I will die on Thai soil,' he said. At age 59, politicians of his silky skills will be thinking not of a genteel fade-out but of a third, fourth debut. (Several ex-prime ministers are still influential in public affairs though in their 70s and 80s.) He had returned to clear his name of corruption charges, he said early on. He was duly charged with two counts straight after his return, one over a property deal and the other for asset concealment. He is free on bail. And there were no sizeable demonstrations by groups opposed to his return, in contrast with the lusty welcome his supporters gave him at Suvarnabhumi airport.

But make no mistake: Mr Thaksin is a deeply polarising figure. The solid majority polled by Mr Samak's People Power Party (PPP) in last December's election is irrelevant against the power of the educated, well-endowed minority to keep Thailand tangled in periodic bouts of controlled chaos if Mr Thaksin does not behave himself. The Thai people deserve better than to have irreconcilable contending forces stall the progress of a fine country blessed with talented people and nature's bounty. This is why what Mr Thaksin really intends does matter. The elected government should not be distracted from its work; neither should Mr Samak take instructions ex-officio. Mr Thaksin has been charged. He is also serving a five-year ban for electoral offences. On Tuesday the Speaker of Parliament, a PPP deputy president during the election, was ousted for electoral fraud in bribing people to canvass for votes for the party. These are some defining tests of judicial independence. If due process is followed without 'prompts' of any kind from the executive branch, Thailand will do just fine.