When Thaksin Shinawatra, Thailand's prime minister, swept to power in a general election a year ago, he skipped the traditional trip to a Buddhist temple to give thanks. It does not appear to have done him any harm: soon after the election, Mr Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai (TRT) party achieved an overall majority in the main chamber of parliament by merging with a small opposition party. On January 27th, it swallowed a second party, thereby securing 289 of the House of Representatives' 500 seats. Add in TRT'S remaining coalition partners, and another party set to join the government in the next few months, and Mr Thaksin may soon control as many as 350 seats. That would give the government a majority not only in the House, but also in joint sittings with the 200-member Senate. It could then amend the constitution at will, and block censure motions against the prime minister. No non-military prime minister of Thailand has ever enjoyed such unfettered power. Even before the latest merger, only one party of any size, the Democrats, offered any resistance at all to Mr Thaksin. "We used to have so many parties we could not remember their names," Mr Thaksin crowed after the conclusion of the merger. "We are now sending a message to the world that there will be continuity in politics."
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