Thailand’s Thaksin projects power as loyalists cosy up

With politicians pouring in to greet him, a dinner with Thailand's prime minister and a police escort to places he went, billionaire former premier Thaksin Shinawatra looked more like a statesman this weekend than a convicted criminal on parole. Loyalists, cabinet ministers and lawmakers flew to his hometown of Chiang Mai to visit and consult Thaksin, projecting an image of power for a tycoon who loomed large over politics throughout his 15 years in self-exile to skip jail for abuse of power and conflicts of interest. Thaksin made a dramatic return to Thailand in August and was paroled on Feb. 18, six months into an eight-year jail sentence that had been commuted to a year by the king.