A slight majority of people see no difference between the previous government installed by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), or Prayut 1, and the current elected government, or Prayut 2, in terms of overall performance, according to an opinion survey by Suan Dusit Rajabhat University, or Suan Dusit Poll.
Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha was made prime minister of the Prayut 1 government after the May 22, 2014 coup by the NCPO, and elected prime minister of the Prayut 2 government after the March 24 election.
The poll was carried out on Oct 1-5 on 1,233 people throughout the country as the Prayut 2 administration enters its third month in office.
Asked to compare the Prayut 1 and Prayut 2 governments in terms of overall performance, a slight majority -- 51.68% -- said they see no difference between them, mainly because they are run by the same working group and the policies of the Prayut 2 government are the continuation of those initiated by the previous government; 41.70% said the Prayut 2 government has fared worse than the Prayut 1 government due to the global economic slowdown; and 6.62% said the Prayut 2 government has performed better by introducing economic stimulus schemes including the state welfare cards and the Chim-Shop-Chai (eat-shop-spend) scheme.
Asked to cite good things the Prayut 2 government has done, 49.11% chose its attempts to introduce economic stimulus programmes; 43.78% its ability to keep the country under control; and 30.67% cited its investments in infrastructure including electric trains and high-speed trains.
When asked how they think the Prayut 2 government has performed worse, 67.87% said it has failed to control goods prices and the cost of living; 40.42% said problems over drugs and corruption are still rampant; and 22.43% said it has not been able to fulfill promises made during the election campaigns.
On issues which they think have remained unchanged under the two governments, 56.94% cited ongoing economic problems; 31.61% cited social disparities; and 28.55% mentioned corruption in the implementation of various programmes.
Asked what they want the Prayut 2 government to do urgently, 65.24% want it to effectively use the national budget to solve economic problems; 38.56% want it to reduce tax and the cost of living; and 35.23% want it to tackle the problems of poverty and unemployment and carry out programmes to create jobs and income.