Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej performed a rare, even admirable act in his latest weekly television show last Sunday: he read aloud a letter from an unnamed citizen who called him names, accusing him of being all the evils in the country.

The letter ended on this angry note: "Samak should die so that this land can be raised higher."

It was clear that Samak didn't give a hoot.

Samak reads the letter attacking himself.

It was probably the same masochistic mood that prompted the premier to show the front-page headline of the Thai daily Thai Post last week, which declared, next to his huge mug shot, "Without Shame!"

He may be under siege but he is still trying to put on a brave face. Deep down, he knows he is fast losing the battle. But he is clutching at straws, hoping against hope that he might still be saved by a miracle.

Last week's series of court decisions against some key members of the government were only harbingers of worse things to some in the next few weeks. Yongyuth Tiyapairat, a key member of the ruling People Power Party, was issued a red card for cheating in the last election.

Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama was forced to stand down after the Constitution Court ruled that he had violated the constitution by not seeking parliamentary endorsement of the Thai-Cambodian joint communiqu้ on the inscription of Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage site.

Samak was still insisting in his television show that Noppadon had carried out his mission in good faith.

Public Health Minister Chaiya Sasomsap was disqualified as a Cabinet member when the court decided that he had failed to declare his wife's shareholding (in excess of the 5-per-cent limit) in a private business.

Three more Cabinet members are awaiting court rulings on their role in the previous government's decision on the online lottery scheme. Samak himself faces court decisions in at least two cases (a defamation suit and another related to his role as a presenter of a television cooking programme) that could strip him of his position.

What promises to offer the most political drama is the offshoot of Yongyuth's case. Since he is one of the PPP's deputy leaders and an executive member, Yongyuth - by being convicted of a serious electoral offence - could well lead the party into dissolution. What's worse, if that should come to pass, all 33 executive members, including Samak himself, would be barred from politics for five years.

Therefore it doesn't really matter whether Samak tells the public today what he will or won't do to overcome the ongoing political crises. His words don't count for much these days, since - despite his noisy and acerbic pronouncements - he doesn't really call the shots any more.

He says he won't quit. He says he won't dissolve Parliament to call a new general election. But then, in the next breath, Samak told a closed-door meeting of his party's MPs that if he does decide to go back on his word, he will consult them first.

Such is his ability to say things that don't really say anything.

His last-ditch attempt to survive the current crisis is to effect a large-scale Cabinet reshuffle. First, he said the new executive line-up would comprise capable, efficient and well-respected people. But a few seconds later, he said: "However, good and efficient people dare not join my Cabinet because of the strict laws that, in effect, mean that once they accept the post, it would be as if they had put one of their feet into prison already … it's a dangerous game."

In other words, Samak is admitting, even before he starts scouting for new ministers, that his attempt at getting a new Cabinet together is almost a non-starter.

He is conceding defeat even before the battle begins.

The fact is that the besieged leader knows - as most political observers here know - that the only option left for him is to call it quits and let Parliament pick a new premier to form a new government that, hopefully, will try to focus the government on what it really should be focusing on: the deteriorating economic woes.

Samak's obsession with political gimmickry and confrontation have inflicted serious damage on the country.

Politics may be fun and addictive. But it's the economy that keeps politics alive, not the other way round.

Five months into office, Samak still doesn't get it. The country can't afford another day of his premiership.