February 2005 - Thaksin Shinawatra’s Thai Rak Thai (Thais Love Thais) party wins a second consecutive landslide election victory, taking 377 of the 500 parliamentary seats. But opponents soon accuse him of trampling on civil liberties and bending government policies to benefit his family business.

Summer 2005 - Violent unrest grows in the south of the country and the prime minister is given new powers to counter suspected Muslim militants in the area.