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Bangkok Post
Bangkok Post
National

Most say govt is unstable and ignores people's needs: poll

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha makes the "I Love You" sign as he leaves the rajpruek Club after a dinner with coalition parties on Thursday. (Photo: Chanat Katanyu)

A majority of Thai people think current Thai politics is chaotic, the government is unstable and politicians of all stripes don't take care of the people they represent, according to an opinion survey by Suan Dusit Rajabhat University, or Suan Dusit Poll.

The poll was conducted online between March 14-17 on 1,127 people all over the country to compile their opinions on the current manoeuvres of political parties, including get-together dinners of both small and large parties in the coalition government to tighten unity.

Asked how they evaluated the political manoeuvres, with each respondent allowed to give more than one answer, 68.90% said the parties were bargaining for political power and their own interests; 62.56% said the government was unstable and the House could be dissolved; 60.32% said new parties would be set up, MPs would switch parties and parties were longer united; 58.00% said MPs were gearing up for a new election; and 54.16% said parties were playing political games.

Asked whether they thought the get-together dinners of both small and large parties during this time were appropriate, 61.67% said "no"; 27.06% were uncertain; and 11.27% said "yes".

A huge majority of respondents - 91.44% - said right now the government should pay most attention to the high prices of goods and fuel followed by 71.81% people's incomes which were insufficient for daily expenses and debt servicing; 69.94% people's quality of life; 66.64% the increase in Covid-19 infections; and 55.22% on rising unemployment.

Just over half of respondents - 52.19% - said Thai politicians, both in the government and opposition blocs, paid little attention to people's living conditions, while 21.31% said they paid no attention at all. Only 24.62% said politicians had taken care of people in a just way, while just 1.88% said they had taken good care of them.

Asked about their confidence in the current administration, 45.12% had little and 32.77% no confidence. On the other side, 19.61% had some confidence and 2.50% had a lot of confidence.

In terms of stability, 50.94% said the government had little and 31.31% no stability. On the other side, 15.70% said the government was fairly stable and 2.05% said it was very stable.

Asked how chaotic they thought current Thai politics was, 49.69% viewed it as being fairly chaotic; 43.80% very chaotic; 5.44% fairly stable; and 1.07% not chaotic at all.

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