It's not the first time Hun Sen has pulled Funcinpec's strings.
In 1993, he used the threat of force -- and the unraveling of a hard-won peace -- to bully Ranariddh's party, which had won the election, into taking his party into the government as an equal partner.
When he became tired of being co-prime minister with Ranariddh, he engineered a bloody coup in 1997, which -- in addition to making him the country's sole top leader -- physically eliminated some of Funcinpec's more able political operators.
On Wednesday, his party sent its warmest congratulations to Keo Puth Rasmey, Funcinpec's freshly chosen leader.
With Hun Sen's will accomplished yet again, said Kek Galabru, "People see how powerful he is -- he said something, then it's done."
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