Thailand's generals must be wondering what they have to do to cow their countrymen. After they overthrew the government of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and forced voters to ratify a constitution that institutionalizes the military's influence over Thai politics, national elections still gave a majority to the remnants of Mr. Thaksin's party, rejecting the military's own political followers.
On Jan. 18, the Supreme Court cleared the way for the upstart politicians to form a government by dismissing legal challenges to their ballot victory. The people's will has prevailed, a real lesson for autocrats and their supporters in Asia.
The Thai military overthrew Prime Minister Shinawatra in a bloodless coup in September 2006. The ostensible reason for the move was corruption, but those charges remain unproven. Most observers blame the former prime minister's populism for the military's action: His policies pitted the urban, old guard against a long-neglected rural constituency, and those tensions were increasing. Some also whispered that he had disrespected the country's venerated king.