Anti-government protests escalate in Thailand amid calls for a "people's revolution" We don't want politicians running the country. People don't believe the politicians anymore," said Mahussayok Sodee, a 47-year-old businessman. This is the only way to change things. The protests have been sparked by a failed attempt earlier this month by Pheu Thai to push an amnesty bill through parliament that its critics claimed would allow the return from exile of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Ms Yingluck's older brother. A hugely divisive figure, Mr Thaksin was overthrown in a 2006 coup and fled into exile in 2008 to avoid corruption charges. Many Thais believe Ms Yingluck is a mere proxy and that Mr Thaksin continues to rule Thailand from his homes in London, Dubai and Hong Kong. Yingluck isn't a real prime minister. She's not clever enough to run the country," said 53-year-old Wattana, a civil servant from the finance ministry who did not want to reveal her surname. Across town in parliament, Ms Yingluck was being grilled by the opposition Democrat Party at the start of a two day no-confidence debate. But with a commanding majority, there is little chance of Ms Yingluck losing the vote. And with huge support amongst the rural poor who have benefited from the government's populist policies, Pheu Thai will likely emerge as victors if Ms Yingluck dissolves parliament and calls an election. There are now increasing questions over who is behind the demonstrations. "The protests have gone beyond the legitimate," Pitch Pongsawat, a professor of political science at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University, told the Telegraph. There are connections between the protestors and those who don't want democracy in Thailand: the army and the traditional elite.