Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra must act fast to raise public confidence in her administration's ability to solve the various problems besetting the country by first outlining the steps her administration intends to take to address the issues, a political analyst urged on Monday.
Most importantly, the PM should adequately explain to the public how her administration intends to find the budget to fund policies which have been marked as "urgent", added Assoc Prof Thanaporn Sriyakul.
"This will enable her to shine brighter than her father [former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra]," he said.
However, if her government's policy statement turns out to be nothing more than a copy of the vision Thaksin outlined in a forum on Aug 22, both Ms Paetongtarn and the Pheu Thai Party might be investigated for allowing an "outsider" to influence their policies and position, he warned.
The political analyst also urged MPs in the government coalition to refrain from acting as the PM's guardians, saying they should let Ms Paetongtarn demonstrate her capabilities.
Separately, the government, opposition and Senate whips reached an agreement on Monday to allocate 29 hours for the discussion of the new government's policy statement.
The statement will be delivered during the two-day joint sitting of the Lower and Upper Houses, planned for Thursday and Friday.
Of the 29 hours, the cabinet and the PM will be allotted six hours, the opposition 13 hours, coalition parties four and a half hours, the Senate four and a half hours, and the chair of the joint sitting one hour, said House Speaker Wan Muhamad Noor Matha on Monday after the tripartite meeting.
Pakornwut Udompipatskul, a list MP of the People's Party in his capacity as chief opposition whip, said that the opposition would use the time to scrutinise the government's policies, particularly the digital wallet handout scheme.