One of the speakers, Kasit Piromya, was introduced by the FCCT moderator as a de-facto spokeman for the PAD. The fact he is currently a shadow deputy prime minister appointed by the Democrat Party was not mentioned.

To be fair, the double hat worn by Kasit was later pointed out by no less than Democrat Party deputy leader Korn Chatikavanij, who was also on the panel.

But when asked by this writer whether he was a Democrat Party proxy within the PAD or a PAD proxy within the Democrat Party, Kasit denied both and insisted his positions created no conflicts of interest.

"Everyone knows I have been performing the dual role," Kasit said, as if that alone justified and legitimised his positions, especially that within the PAD, which is still openly urging the Army to stage yet another "selfless, pro-people" coup.

But Kasit, a former top diplomat, is not alone as a member of the Democrat Party having cozy ties with the PAD. The best known figure must be Somkiat Pongpaiboon, a Democrat party-list MP and one of the PAD's five supreme leaders.

Korn defended Somkiat that evening at the FCCT by saying the party thought the PAD had been dissolved when they took Somkiat into the fold.

However, now that it is more than clear the PAD is back - with Somkiat jointly at the helm - shouldn't the Democrat Party be telling Somkiat to choose one or the other, lest his interests begin to conflict? Shouldn't they be telling him his continued dual role risks damaging the credibility of the party - or the PAD, if he does not care about the party - or both?

Once again, is Somkiat a PAD proxy within the Democrat Party or vice versa?

Thai newspapers, which are mostly pro-PAD, have not even tried to question the possible conflicts of interest in Somkiat's case even though he spends much more time on the PAD's stage, indirectly or not so indirectly calling for another military intervention, than speaking as a member of the House of Representatives.

Much has been written in the Thai media about overlapping roles and interests between the pro-Thaksin Shinawatra People Power Party (PPP) and the pro-Thaksin anti-coup Democratic Alliance against Dictatorship (DAAD), as well as the possible repercussions of this. A case in point is that of Natthawut Saikua - government spokeman, PPP MP and a "former" leader of the DAAD who is also a co-host of a pro-government political talk show on state-controlled NBT TV. Consider how ludicrous that is!

But returning to Somkiat, Kasit and the role within the PAD being played by other Democrat Party members, like Kraisak Chonhavan - who has the distinction of having been the first Thai public figure to very quickly (or hastily) defend the September 19, 2006, coup.

For those who may have forgotten, early on the morning of September 20 of that year, Kraisak invited foreign and Thai journalists to listen to his explanation of why the coup was justifiable and his declaration that Thailand was on the right path.

Fast forward to the FCCT a few weeks ago: Korn reiterated the party line that the Democrats did not support the 2006 coup-makers, although the party did not protest at the time because: "Look, the coup had already taken place."

Why, then, are people like Kraisak - an arch-apologist for the coup-makers and a de-facto adviser to the PAD - later promoted into the deputy leadership of the Democrat Party when it supposedly did not approve of the coup?

Is this the kind of reward coup-apologists get from the "anti-coup" Democrat Party?

The cozy and even dubious relationship between the Democrats and the PAD continues to be one of the factors undermining the credibility of the party - in the eyes of not only those who support Thaksin and the PPP government, but also those who do not support Thaksin but are appalled by any direct or indirect support for military intervention in politics.

The double-faced role being played by these figures within the Democrats - or within the PAD - is also one of the reasons why the present political climate is characterised by deep emotion, anger and hatred, because people feel they are being told lies.

And the party thinks it is business as usual.