Thai public responds to Thaksin's return with a mix of glee, dread and ambivalence

Huddled around radios on Bangkok's busy streets, Thais listened anxiously for news Thursday that ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra had returned home from self-imposed exile.

At the country's international airport, hundreds of Thaksin supporters with red roses or placards that read "We Love Thaksin" began gathering at 5 a.m. local time to catch a glimpse of the 58-year-old billionaire.

The crowd of taxi drivers, homemakers and elderly grandmothers chanted his name or joined in raucous songs penned in his honor that celebrated "an iron man who has great vision" and someone who "will bring Thailand out of crisis."

…