It looks really bad for Thaksin – and not merely because of the number of seats the alliance of Peua Thai and Pracharaj was able to win in yesterday’s by-election. Considering Newin’s defection, retaining 10 of the PPP’s old 13 seats is not a terrible result. Nor should the performance of the competition be considered much of a setback. Chat Thai Pattana basically held steady. The Democrat Party performed well in Central Thailand as well as the North, netting 7 additional seats. But the Democrats are no more a national …