Yesterday, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was strutting his stuff on the international stage — from a meaningless Non-Aligned Movement meeting in Cuba to an equally meaningless UN session in New York.

Back home, Gen. Sonthi Boonyaratglin was staging a military coup to oust him. As of the publication of this piece, for all intents and purposes, his coup is a fait accompli.

“I don’t agree with the coup, but now that they’ve done it, I support it because Thaksin has refused to resign from his position….Allowing Thaksin to carry on will ruin the country more than this. The reputation of the country may be somewhat damaged, but it’s better than letting Thaksin stay in power.”

[University student Sasiprapha Chantawong]

It’s hard to dismiss that sentiment. Most Thais seem resigned to the logic of this coup. Yet even a benign coup — popular and bloodless — is inherently inconsistent with democracy. No matter how corrupt Thaksin had become (with insider deals that raked in billions), constitutional provisions existed to impeach him or vote him out in elections just months away.

Still, Thailand has a history of treating coups as routine. In 74 years of democracy, governments have changed as often by coup as by election. So perhaps it’s no surprise that even former Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai rationalized this one:

“As politicians, we do not support any kind of coup but during the past five years, the government of Thaksin created several conditions that forced the military to stage the coup. Thaksin has caused the crisis in the country.”

I’m no Pollyanna. As military coups go, this one was executed flawlessly. And the greatest indictment of Thaksin’s leadership is that no one lifted a finger to defend him.

It is also telling that Gen. Sonthi secured the blessing of King Bhumibol Adulyadej. The king has endorsed him as caretaker prime minister until a new constitution is drafted and elections held.

So yes, martial law has been declared. But Thais already seem resigned to the hope that democracy will soon be restored… until the next coup.

Meanwhile, over in Hungary

In Budapest, thousands of Hungarians have massed in Parliament Square to protest Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany’s admitted corruption. Unlike the Thais, though, they are trying to oust their leader by democratic means, not military ones.

What inflamed them was not just Gyurcsany’s corruption but his candid admission of its deliberate and systematic nature. His Nixonian confession shocked even supporters:

“We lied morning, noon and night. I do not want to carry on with this. Either we do it and have the personnel for it, or others will do it. I will never give an interview at the end of which we part with each other in argument. Never. I will never hurt the Hungarian left. Never.”

It is understandable, therefore, that even Hungarians who voted for him would now want him ousted…  post haste! Indeed, here’s how one erstwhile supporter framed the situation:

In this, Hungarians are channeling the spirit of their 1956 uprising. But their methods echo Ukraine’s Orange Revolution of 2004 — sustained civil disobedience, not military force. And all signs suggest Gyurcsany will fall, not by bullets or tanks, but by the moral weight of public outrage.

So in Thailand, democracy is undermined by yet another coup. In Hungary, it may be strengthened by the people themselves. The juxtaposition speaks volumes.

NOTE: The latest reports indicate that pockets of violence have erupted throughout Parliament Square. But iPINIONS stand in solidarity with these Hungarian protesters and hope cooler heads prevail so that they do not forfeit their moral authority to force this corrupt prime minister to step down.