"We are working against time, " says Abhisit Vejjajiva, a minister attached to Chuan's office.
Abhisit says that two years in the opposition wilderness have enabled Chuan to mature politically.
Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai has urged Thais to boycott the casinos, to no avail.
"We believe in the rewards and penalties of a free-market system, " declared Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai.
The decision was Chuan's, but an angry Supachai concluded it was at Tarrin's behest.
By urging his troops to fight back, Mr Chuan also intends to hold them together.
For starters, incumbent PM Chuan Leekpai's party wants to put the two learning ministries under senior MPs.
The largest opposition party in Parliament, ex-PM Chuan Leekpai's Democrats, may lead a censure debate next month.
Then Niphon Promphan, the most popular man in the party aside from Chuan, withdrew amid cries of dismay.
"It's true that the two have differing opinions, " Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai was forced to admit last week.
Tarrin, however, secured a deal to report directly to Chuan and bypass Supachai.
But Surayudh has a secret weapon - the country's first civilian defense minister, PM Chuan Leekpai himself ( see interview).
Because he figures voters are ready to give him a go after watching the performances of Chatichai, Chuan and Banharn.
IMF, which is well aware of Mr Chuan's problems, is expected to approve the new letter of intent this month.
With an election loss a real possibility, Chuan is now scrambling to find a candidate to head his economic team.
Still, the affair has rattled Chuan's Democrat Party members who, on April 2 and 3, will hold their general assembly.
Through it he hopes to succeed Chuan Leekpai as Thailand's next prime minister in elections that must take place by November.
Despite these internal differences, the Democrat-led coalition under Chuan should comfortably survive to next year when it must hold an election.
Besides Luo Chuan and Xing Wang, they include Derek Ling of Chinese LinkedIn model Tianji, and mobile gaming craftsman Frank Yu.
Founder Wang Chuan-fu wanted to give the company name a visionary touch.
But Chuan Leekpai, the prime minister, said that only a severe bout of renewed regional or global turmoil would make this necessary.
Both of these were mandated by Thailand's new constitution, not initiated by the Chuan government which was constitutionally obliged to pass them.
Luo Chuan, the former head of MySpace China, is now running a new startup called AppChina, a platform for Android developers in China.
The abrasive manner of Mr Chuan's finance minister, Tarrin Nimmanahaeminda, has also made it easier for opponents to attack the Democrats' economic policies.
Restaurants and caterers will be banned from burning coal -- a measure that will threaten Beijing's beloved lamb kebabs, known as yangrou chuan.
Two years later, when the interim regimes had proved their ineptness and Chuan was returned to power, he proudly brought back Tarrin and Supachai.
Despite the Thanom debacle, Chuan was returned unopposed as party leader.
As he took over the helm on November 9th, at least the new prime minister, Chuan Leekpai, had the support of many of the passengers.
But the fickle Thai press, which had only weeks earlier voted Tarrin "Man of the Year, " rounded on the finance minister and his boss, Chuan.
Many Bangkok business people are placing their bets on the Democrats to win the most seats, which could mean the return of Chuan Leekpai as PM.
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