Academics have raised concerns about the lack of tangible progress in the government's economic performance.
Aat Pisanwanich, an analyst in international economics and advisor on Asean affairs at Intelligence Research Consultant, said a cabinet reshuffle is needed to align the government's operations in a more unified direction, especially in economic ministries, as their performance remains unclear.
He said the ministries that should be changed include Finance, Commerce, Agriculture and Cooperatives, and even Foreign Affairs.
Mr Aat criticised the Finance Ministry for lacking clarity in its economic stimulus policies. He pointed to the direction of trade negotiations with the US, as the finance minister leads the negotiation team, but has not aligned with the Commerce Ministry, resulting in a loss of investor confidence.
As for the Commerce Ministry, Mr Aat said it has allowed the prices of many goods to fall, particularly palm oil, which dropped from 6 baht to 4 baht per kilogramme. This dip was partially due to China's refusal to purchase soybeans from the US, causing a surplus in the market.
The Commerce Ministry must clarify how many soybeans the government intends to import from the US, as soybeans are used as an oil substitute for palm oil, which can drive down its price, he said.
Furthermore, the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry should play a key role in setting standards for agricultural imports, and should be part of the trade negotiation team with the US, yet it has had no involvement in these matters, said Mr Aat.
In addition, the prime minister needs to take a more active role in coordinating among coalition parties to improve the government's efficiency, he said.
Regardless of the government leader, Mr Aat acknowledged resolving economic issues will not be easy as Thailand faces significant challenges, especially from US protectionist policies, which may claim a heavier toll than the pandemic.
"The problems facing this government are deeply rooted and cannot be solved by a lone white knight, especially under the current coalition government," he said.
While the foreign affairs minister does not belong to an economic ministry, the position plays an important role in international economic affairs. Yet this foreign minister has not had a prominent role in the response to the US trade tariffs, making Thailand's position more opaque to the international community, said Mr Aat.
Kiatanantha Lounkaew, an economist at Thammasat University, said it was unclear who would replace current ministers in a reshuffle, meaning it is uncertain whether such a move would lead to improvement.
He said a cabinet reshuffle should meet two conditions. First, one must assess whether current ministers meet expectations. Then, evaluate whether the proposed replacements would perform better.
If both conditions are clearly met, then a reshuffle is justified, but if it is merely for political benefit-sharing, the government may lose more than it gains, said Mr Kiatanantha.
"Public trust has reached a point where people are questioning the lack of concrete change, even as global economic challenges worsen," he said.
"People want a reshuffle, but if the new team continues to work in the same ineffective ways and lacks decisiveness in economic problem-solving, then the reshuffle would be meaningless or even damaging because it would appear to be driven by political interests rather than a genuine intent to move the country forward."
According to Mr Kiatanantha, previous government economic measures have mostly focused on boosting consumer purchasing power and borrowing to stimulate the economy.
He said it feels like the same old tactics are being reused while the economy continues to deteriorate, even though this strategy no longer fits the current context.
While short-term stimulus might have been necessary early on, some problems require structural reforms, such as cutting business costs by 40%, said Mr Kiatanantha. If these goals were achieved, US tariffs would not be such an issue for Thailand, he said.
"Thailand lacks a long-term economic direction. The country's economic discourse is limited to questions such as 'How should we stimulate the economy?' or 'How can we increase exports?' We should be asking 'What should Thailand's next-generation economy look like?'" said Mr Kiatanantha.
"If we truly want to move the economy forward, we need to stop using the word stimulate. Stimulus measures are for when someone is near death and needs CPR. You can't keep resuscitating forever -- eventually it becomes ineffective. What we need is to rehabilitate the economy to make it resilient. This may not be politically popular at first, but in the long term, it will deliver real, tangible results."