Thai government on the brink of being ousted? Not according to the stars, says former premier

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Astrologically-minded former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has predicted that a coming realignment of stars will help defuse mounting political tensions in Thailand.

His comments came as as anti-government protests entered their fourth week yesterday with two small bombs exploding in Bangkok - without causing injuries - and a march by the People's Alliance for Democracy snarling up traffic for hours.

'Be patient with the headache-inducing situation until July 2,' Thaksin said yesterday. 'Mars moving close to Saturn causes the headache. When Mars leaves, the situation will ease.'

Fortune tellers and superstition play a major role in Thai society, even among the Western-educated elite, with political decisions sometimes influenced by fortune tellers' advice.

Thaksin's downfall - in a 2006 military coup - was predicted by Senator Boonlert Pairintra, a respected astrologer, who said the planet Mercury used to favour the prime minister but was later eclipsed by the God of Darkness.

Thailand's latest political tension revolves around Thaksin, who returned from exile earlier this year after a new elected government took office. Thaksin still faces corruption charges.

Demonstrators have been holding occasionally violent protests since May 25 to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej and the coalition government he has headed since December's general election.

Turmoil: Thai police stand guard as about 2,000 anti-government protesters led by the People's Alliance for Democracy march in Bangkok yesterday

They say Samak, of the People Power Party, is a puppet of Thaksin. Samak's new Cabinet is packed with allies and relatives of Thaksin, and critics say rehabilitating the former leader is among the new government's top priorities.

A court disbanded Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai party last year and banned him from public office until 2012.

On Monday night two men on a motorcycle hurled explosives at a house used as an office by a media mogul who is a leader of the anti-government alliance.