A Thai court removed the prime minister Sept. 9 for being paid to host a TV cooking show, setting off wild celebrations by protesters occupying his office compound. But the rejoicing could be short-lived as the ruling party vowed to put him back in power.

The Constitutional Court's ruling took Samak Sundaravej at least temporarily out of the cross hairs of the People's Alliance for Democracy, a rightist movement that seized the Government House complex two weeks ago seeking to force the prime minister's resignation.

But the court's decision seemed unlikely to end the political crisis brought on by the alliance's demands for a sea change in Thai politics, beginning with Samak's ouster and eventually moving Thailand away from democracy in favor of a mostly appointed legislature.

After the verdict, Samak's political party vowed to re-elect him as prime minister, as allowed by law.