Who isn't there is more interesting than who is

All eyes are on Gen Prem Tinsulanonda's Sisao residence today when Premier Yingluck Shinawatra leads her Cabinet members to seek Songkran blessings from the privy council president, once known as her brother Thaksin's arch-rival.

Premier Yingluck has sought -- and Gen Prem has obliged -- to meet the former premier as a sign of what is widely seen as a move towards national reconciliation. But a group of red-shirt leaders has publicly opposed, arguing that it would send the wrong message to red-shirts who still believe there is a wide gap between the "elite" and the "downtrodden."

Thaksin said in Laos recently that Prem isn't a party to the conflict. Some red-shirt leaders who are now in the Cabinet and Parliament say Yingluck's move is welcome as a sign towards reducing conflict within Thai society.

What political observers try to monitor today is probably not who joins Yingluck to meet Prem but who doesn't!