A majority of people are pessimistic about the Thai political situation in the light of the latest cabinet line-up reported by the media, according to an opinion survey by the Suan Dusit Rajabhat University, or Suan Dusit Poll.
The poll was based on interviews with 1,215 people throughout the country conducted on July 3-6. They were asked how they expected Thai politics would unfold after seeing the latest cabinet line-up.
A majority, 60.6%, expected political confusion to get worse; 34.6% believed it would be the same as before; and 4.9% thought it would improve.
Asked about political instability, 57.9% expected it to worsen; 34.6% said it would remain the same; and 9.7% thought it would improve.
Regarding the government's performance, 48% expected it would worsen; 39.6% said it would remain the same; and 12.5% thought it would improve.
On the atmosphere in parliamentary meetings between government and opposition MPs, 43.4% said it would get worse; 40.2% thought it would remain the same; and, 15.9% believed it would be better than before.
Regarding the opposition's ability to monitor the government's work, 42.7% believed it would improve; 31.2% said it would be the same; and 26.1% said it would decline.
Asked what lessons have been learned from the March 24 election and can be used in future polls, the answers varied as follows:
- The vote-counting method should be standard and transparent, 43.6%;
- The Election Commission must be neutral and accountable, 33%;
- More must be done to increase people's awareness of the importance of voting in elections, 26%;
- Voters should be more careful in choosing whom to vote for, 23.2%;
- The budget set aside for elections must be spent more effectively, 17.4%.