Thailand's internal contest for political power has taken a break after eight days of protests which closed Bangkok's airports, stranding 100,000 travelers, and cost its economy $100 million a day.

The protesters, known as the People's Alliance for Democracy, achieved their immediate goal, the departure from office of the prime minister and government. Thailand's Constitutional Court ruled that Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, his political party and two other parties were guilty of electoral fraud, ousting him from office and banning all three parties from politics for five years.

But the battle is more fundamental than the fate of particular individuals and parties and has by no means been resolved. The same parties that formed the coalition that named Mr. Somchai prime minister, based on their victory in the 2007 elections, still hold a majority in the parliament and will name his successor.

The ADP protesters' primary objection to the ruling coalition of parties is that they consider that former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra stands behind them. Mr. Somchai is Mr. Thaksin's brother-in-law. The ADP basically represents Thailand's urban middle classes. The appeal of Mr. Thaksin and his supporters lies mostly among Thailand's rural poor.

Two other elements have the potential to resolve the conflict. The first is the king, Bhumibol Adulyadej, who will be 81 Friday and who continues to be deeply revered by Thais. He stayed out of the eight-day standoff. The second is the army, which has carried out many coups d'etat in Thailand's modern history, the most recent in 2006. The army, too, stayed out of the airport blockage, even as Thailand's police showed themselves incapable of resolving the problem.

For the United States, the turmoil in Thailand, particularly as long as it remains basically nonviolent, is lamentable in its damage to the economy and the disruption of the country. The nation of 63 million is a longtime friend of the United States and was a particularly important ally in the Vietnam War. At the same time, the problem remains very much a political one for the Thais themselves to resolve.

This chapter is over for the moment, but a point of sustainable stability in Thailand has not yet been reached and there is probably more unrest to come.