As early as 1995 there were two major political incidents that boded ill for democratic politics. The first of these was the ouster of Sam Rainsy, a Paris-educated accountant, from Funcinpec. In mid-1994 Rainsy lost his position as finance minister, a job he had excelled at, largely, it was surmised, because of his outspoken criticisms concerning corruption. In May 1995 his party membership was rescinded and one month later he was sacked from the National Assembly. He formed the Khmer Nation Party (now called the Sam Rainsy Party) and found himself the country’s leading dissident in no time at all.

The other political headline of 1995 was the arrest and exile of Prince Norodom Sirivudh, secretary general of Funcinpec, former foreign minister and half- brother of King Sihanouk. The prince was allegedly plotting to kill Hun Sen, but it all boiled down to an off-the-cuff joke. Hun-Sen, who found himself with the perfect excuse to clear another prominent adversary from his path, was the only one laughing.