The cat is now out of the bag. And it's an ominous, black, ugly cat for that matter.

Cat-lover Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej has finally owned up to the real motive behind the desperate move to amend the charter.

"Let me be frank about it. They are trying to dissolve the three parties in the ruling coalition government. That means 316 MPs would be out of a job... That's why we have to make a pre-emptive move," Samak declared during his latest Sunday morning talk show.

There is no need to beat around the bush or play the good-guys-against-bad-guys game anymore. The premier admitted that if the Election Commission hadn't made a move to dissolve the People Power Party, he would have stuck to his original pledge to consider amending the Constitution only three months before the end of his government's four-year term.

Yes, he has gone back on that promise, but he claims it's not his fault. Some unnamed mysterious force is intent upon destroying his party and has managed to put his government's survival in great danger. That's why he and his party have resorted to this controversial move to rewrite the charter.

If you listened carefully, Samak even admitted that he had gone back on his words on another related issue. As the former leader of the Prachakorn Thai Party, he had staunchly spoken against the 1997 Constitution, which went into effect anyway. Now, he is a cheerleader for that past charter.

Why did he change his mind on so many vital issues within such a short span of time? He understandably didn't elaborate. It would have been quite humiliating for him to have done so. Suffice it to say, perhaps, that when he has to fight for his survival, political accountability and consistency don't rank very high on his list of priorities.

If he could choose, Samak would opt to fight a limited war focused only on his own political survival and avoid unnecessarily extending that war in any way that could lead to the serious national confrontation between the powers-that-be and their entrenched opponents that now threatens to come to pass.

For the first time, Samak revealed how isolated he is within the People Power Party of which he is supposed to be the "undisputed" leader.

"I only wanted to have Article 237 rewritten so that a political party won't be disbanded only because a certain executive member has committed a violation against the election law. I didn't want to touch Article 309, which would be seen as helping absolve former premier Thaksin from the various charges [against him]. But then all the party members except me wanted to include that clause for amendment too. What else could I do?" he asked rhetorically.

There isn't much he could have done if he really isn't the party's leader - and if his agenda doesn't match that of Thaksin Shinawatra, who is now seen as the main beneficiary and promoter of the move to embark on the "Grand Plan".

The script of the Grand Plan appears to be as follows:

1) Delete Article 237 to save the People Power Party.

2) Get rid of Article 309 to reclaim all of Thaksin's frozen assets and throw out all the cases against the Big Boss.

3) Pass the new charter in Parliament within 180 days so that the current members of the Anti-Corruption Committee and National Election Commission would have been replaced.

4) Get the constitutional amendments passed as soon as possible then call a new general election. Rewind the clock back to September 18, 2006. Thaksin will make a spectacular comeback before Samak consolidates his political base with military backing. Don't forget he still technically holds the right to dissolve parliament - or not.

Does Samak know he isn't part of this new Grand Plan? You bet. Why do you think he has been in such a foul mood? His anti-press outburst was only a cover - a red herring in this hugely complicated plot.

You would have to have a terribly cruel heart indeed not to feel some sympathy for him.