And he sees foreign pressure to retreat from his ouster of Ranariddh as interference in Cambodian affairs. Yet Hun Sen must ponder the future. One fact of life in today's Cambodia is its heavy dependence on foreign finances. And he might, once again, be reduced to running a poor pariah state wracked by violent divisions. The best thing he can do now, however, is ensure that the polls are held, and held fairly and credibly.
Problems abound, of course.
Even as Hun Sen urges Funcinpec to get its house in order, his troops are hunting down and executing its top military officials while detaining many others. The royalist party can hardly be called independent while it is under such duress. To buttress the election's credibility, Hun Sen should consider stepping down from his post after reining in his rampaging soldiers. He has, after all, already asked Funcinpec to name a new co-premier to succeed Ranariddh. If it does, Hun Sen will have the perfect opening to pass his own post on to another CPP member.