BANGKOK—Ousted Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra returned home from exile on Thursday swearing to stay out of politics, although most analysts suspect he will be running the country from behind the scenes.
His first action was to be to surrender to police at the airport on a corruption charge, then head to the Supreme Court to seek bail.
Thousands of supporters thronged the airport, waving "We Love Thaksin" banners and cardboard cutouts of their hero. As the telecoms billionaire's flight from Hong Kong touched down, chants of "Thaksin, Thaksin" echoed round the arrivals hall.
"I love him so much," said 65-year-old Wilai Scott. "I want Thaksin to be PM again." In a sign of widespread support among Bangkok's rank and file, Wilai said the taxi driver taking her to the airport refused to accept a fare.
Before boarding the flight, Thaksin said he was looking forward to spending time with his family and seeing the land of his birth for the first time in 18 months. He was at the United Nations in New York at the time of the September 2006 coup.
"There is no place like your homeland," he said after receiving flowers from an old Thai lady in the departure lounge in Hong Kong.
When pressed about a possible return to politics, Thaksin repeated a well-rehearsed line about wanting to be a private citizen.
"No, enough is enough," he told reporters.
Few people in Thailand believe him.
It was the support for Thaksin in the countryside and among urban workers that carried the People Power Party led by Samak Sundaravej to near an overall majority in the December election. Voters expect and want Thaksin to be the man making decisions.
"We will have two prime ministers working at the same time -- one officially and the other unofficially," Chulalongkorn University political analyst Thitinan Pongsudhirak said.
Battle Rejoined
The generals who ousted him in the bloodless coup, accusing Thaksin of presiding over rampant corruption and disrespecting revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej, have been undermined by the interim government they installed.
But most analysts expect a renewed battle between Thaksin, the military and the royalist establishment for control of Thailand's future.
Thaksin -- his party dissolved after the coup and himself barred from politics for five years for electoral fraud -- will still have to fight one corruption charge and possibly more.
He was due to surrender himself to police at Bangkok airport, then go to the Supreme Court to seek bail on the corruption charge relating to his wife's purchase of a prime piece of Bangkok real estate while in office.
He said he expected to be found innocent.
"Thailand is a democracy now. You are innocent until proven guilty," he said, adding he expected to be in Britain by March 16 to watch his English Premier League team Manchester City play.
Asked if he was worried about his personal safety, Thaksin said some, but not much. "Thai people are peaceful," he said.
However, the Nation newspaper said that rather than go to his home, Thaksin had booked an entire floor of a riverside hotel to ensure security for himself and his family.
He is expected to hold a news conference at a Bangkok hotel on Thursday afternoon.
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