Most Thais have little confidence in the Paetongtarn Shinawatra administration and their greatest worries are the government’s failure to keep promises and the premier’s lack of experience in politics, according to an opinion poll.
The Nida poll, carried out by the National Institute of Development Administration, asked the public how they viewed the Paetongtarn Shinawatra-led government. Its sample was 1,310 respondents representing all generations, occupations and regions of Thailand.
Asked how much confidence they have in the government’s ability to solve the country’s problems, the answers were as follows:
35.42% said they had low confidence
28.17% moderate confidence
22.52% no confidence at all
13.13% high confidence
0.76% did not know or were not interested
Asked for their top concerns about the government, the answers varied as follows:
36.03% said their greatest worry was that it would fail to keep political promises or perform below expectations
32.14% Ms Paetongtarn’s age and lack of experience in politics/national administration, possibly leading to her making wrong decisions.
32.14% her father, Thaksin Shinawatra, wielding “too much control”, resulting in lawsuits against the prime minister and coalition parties
24.89% corruption due to lax administration
21.76% crises caused by mismanagement of national affairs
21.53% political chaos caused by street rallies against Ms Paetongtarn’s government
18.85% petitions to overthrow the government by Thaksin’s opponents
18.63% had no concerns about the current government
14.73% another coup d’état
11.83% coalition parties trying to oust the prime minister
10.08% the fall of the government as a result of opposition parties’ checks and balance
0.46% did not know or were not interested
When asked whether Thaksin’s political role would or should affect the popularity of Pheu Thai in the current government, the answers were as follows:
40.23% said it would negatively affect the party’s popularity
33.29% it would have no impact on the party’s popularity
22.21% it would positively affect the party’s popularity
4.27% did not know or were not interested