Thai Prime Minister Struggles to Stay in Power From inside her "war room" in a temporary office at the Defense Ministry, Thailand's beleaguered Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra is watching television feeds of flag-waving protesters trying to bring down her government. The demonstrators have taken over key pockets of central Bangkok, blocking off their territory with sandbag walls guarded by supporters. They refuse to negotiate, and they're trampling campaign billboards bearing Yingluck's image amid increasing doubt that the election she called for next month can be held. Yingluck can't order a police crackdown for fear of triggering a military coup. And she is now facing a serious legal threat: The country's anti-corruption commission has announced that it will probe her handling of a controversial rice policy, an investigation that could force her from office if it is successful. What's the best way to deal with it all? Keep calm. And stay cool," Yingluck said, flashing a brief smile as she rode an elevator at the Defense Ministry this past week, headed for a meeting to monitor the crisis and discuss strategy with top advisers. Thailand has been plagued by sometimes bloody bouts of unrest ever since then-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra - Yingluck's older brother - was overthrown by the army in 2006 amid charges of corruption and alleged disrespect for the monarchy. The coup touched off a societal schism that in broad terms pits the majority rural poor, who back the Shinawatras, against an urban-based elite establishment that draws support from the army and staunch royalists who see Yingluck's family as a corrupt threat to their power. The struggle has taken place against what analysts also see as a battle for control over a crucial transition period when the country's 86-year-old monarch, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, passes from the scene. But for much of it, Yingluck had stayed out of the spotlight. Just three years ago, she was largely unknown - the director of a family real estate business, a political neophyte with no experience in government. Today, she is in the political fight of her life - a besieged prime minister who cannot use her own office and whose government has been displaced to myriad backup offices across Bangkok because demonstrators have surrounded her ministries. We've had to adapt the way that we work. I have ordered every ministry to adapt," Yingluck said Thursday. It's like we are working by remote. Protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban - who is wanted by police on charges of insurrection - brazenly vowed to "capture" Yingluck and her Cabinet this past week. The threat is not taken seriously, but Yingluck takes no risks. "I don't go to anywhere deemed dangerous," she said, responding to a question about her safety. Since Monday, anti-government demonstrators have tried to keep up the pressure by marching across Bangkok, and seizing parts of the city. The protests have been peaceful, but violence has occurred nearly every night, with shooting attacks at protest venues and small explosives hurled at the homes of top protest supporters, including the city's governor, a political rival of Yingluck's. On Friday, a grenade was hurled at marching demonstrators, killing one man and wounding dozens of people. Suthep, who was in the procession but was not wounded, quickly blamed the government. Yingluck urged the police to quickly make arrests, saying she opposed the use of force and was concerned that the situation was becoming increasingly chaotic.