There are many cases in which the previous government was impolite to the Royal Family and to the King himself.

The Thai people cannot and will not tolerate anybody who shows even slight disrespect to the King or his family…

There was interference with many organisations, especially the independent organisations established to oversee and scrutinise the government’s actions. The previous government wanted to control the whole system…

That [led to] large-scale corruption [and] vote-buying during local and general elections. The people knew about these things, and they could not accept it. As far as the army staging a coup, we could not just do it on our own. We needed the consent of the people to help us preserve democracy…

– Council for National Security chief, General Sonthi Boonyaratglin, as quoted in “Thaksin impolite to King: Sonthi“, The Nation, 4 March 2007.