In order to return to his country after 15 years in exile, Thaksin Shinawatra, the 74-year-old former prime minister of Thailand, made a deal with the devil. He arrived in Bangkok on Tuesday, August 22, the day after his political party reached an agreement with the same military forces that overthrew him in 2006. But the "deal" brokered on Monday between his party, Pheu Thai, and the army-created parties, including that of the outgoing prime minister, former putschist general Prayuth Chan-o-cha, is not fooling anyone – this homecoming was clearly negotiated advance.

For the time being, the agreement with the "devils" of the military-royalist establishment has not spared this "Faust" from immediate incarceration. As soon as the billionaire politician's private jet landed at Don Muang airport, "Thaksin," as he is known by all, was immediately taken to court, then to prison. In theory, the former head of government should serve a cumulative eight-year sentence – for embezzlement, conflicts of interest and other corruption charges – to which he had been sentenced before and after his departure from Thailand in 2008.

But many observers are in agreement that Thaksin is unlikely to spend much time in prison. In fact, the septuagenarian has not been placed in a cell but rather in the medical section of the prison – he is said to be suffering from high blood pressure. In a kingdom where what goes on behind the scenes is often more decisive than a court decision, experts are advancing several possibilities, for example a royal pardon, remission or reduction of sentences. In any case, given the compromises made with the generals, it would be highly surprising if the man who was once one of Southeast Asia's most influential leaders were not soon released.

In the eyes of some of his supporters, this grand return has the unnerving hallmarks of a political betrayal. Indeed, even in a nation where convictions are often flexible, joining forces with the perpetrators of the putsch that toppled you from power defies all principles of democratic respect. While he was warmly welcomed at the airport by a large contingent of his "red shirt" supporters, elsewhere, other supporters of the former leader were reportedly ripping off their own red shirts in protest.

On the Internet, many have also mocked the shifting rhetoric and lies of the former leader's party, with one unfortunate statement by a Thaksin supporter also provoking ridicule. The famous architect Duangrit Bunnag had recently gone so far as to say to those suggesting a negotiated compromise was afoot between Pheu Thai and the pro-army parties that if this were true, he was ready to receive "fecal matter" in the face. For the time being, Bunnag has kept a low profile.

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