Bangkok (AFP) - After masterminding Thailand's 2014 military coup, Prayut Chan-O-Cha penned a pop song asking for a little more time to return happiness to the people, but eight years later the political survivor is facing his own countdown.
The country's constitutional court on Wednesday suspended him from office while it decides whether he has reached the eight-year term limit laid down for the prime minister.
A decision against him will end the rule of one of Thailand's longest-serving prime ministers months ahead of a general election.
Thailand is due to go to the polls by March next year with Prayut increasingly out of favour with voters.
A recent opinion poll of 1,300 people by the National Institute of Development Administration found two-thirds wanted him to vacate office immediately.
He was targeted in large youth-led pro-democracy rallies that sprang up in Bangkok in 2020 calling for his resignation.
His government has also faced criticism over its handling of the pandemic and the economy, with Thailand recording its worst economic performance since the 1990s.
Prayut has had to contend with growing factionalism and defections within his ruling coalition -- almost a year ago he survived a plot to overthrow him by a junior minister.
And last month he came through his fourth parliamentary no-confidence vote.
"I actually think what is interesting is that he has been able to hold on for so long, despite all of these problems," says Aaron Connelly, analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
It is not the first time Prayut has faced a constitutional headache -- in late 2020 he survived a legal challenge over his use of an army residence his family calls home despite him no longer being part of the military top brass.
Soldier to suit
Born in 1954 into a military family in northeastern Thailand's Nakhon Ratchasima province, Prayut rose from military college to become commander of the prestigious Queen's Guards in 1980.
He married a university educator, Naraporn, in 1984 and the couple have twin daughters Nittha and Tanya, who enjoyed brief fame in a pop band in 2006.
In 2010 forces under Prayut's command opened fire and killed scores of "Red Shirt" protesters -- mostly rural supporters of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 coup.
Four years later Prayut launched the latest of the dozen coups to have rocked Thai democracy over the last 90 years, ousting Thaksin's sister Yingluck Shinawatra's democratically elected government.
Prayut introduced martial law and headed the junta regime for five years before clinging on to power after a disputed 2019 election with the help of a handpicked 250-member Senate.
"This is someone who came to power in a coup, and then created a system where he could remain in power," Connelly said.
Prayut genuinely wanted to change Thailand's political structure, Connelly added, and had a "deeply conservative vision of how Thai society should work".
"He wanted to usher through a transition at the very top and I think he would say that he has achieved those goals in part."
Softer side
Over the years Prayut has shown occasional glimpses of his softer side through poetry and song writing.
In 2018 he released a Valentine's Day love ballad to Thailand titled "Diamond Heart", featuring lyrics including "Did you know your smile is my happiness?" and "No matter how tired and difficult, let's hold hands".
But he has taken a brusque approach to journalists at times.Last year he sprayed reporters with hand-sanitiser and at a 2018 press conference he left a cardboard cut-out of himself to answer awkward questions.
Despite the court decision, Connelly said he believed Prayut would be satisfied with his legacy to date.
"I think with the hand that he was dealt, given what he wanted to accomplish, he's actually played that hand quite well," he said.
