It is somehow appropriate that the showdown last night between the forces that have for years paralysed politics in Thailand should happen amid the gleaming glass and steel of Suvarnabhumi Airport.

When Thaksin Shinawatra, as prime minister, announced plans for the $4bn (€3.1bn, £2.6bn) facility earlier in the decade he said it would be a symbol of a new Thailand: forward looking and open for business.