A quarterly opinion survey by the National Institute of Development Administration has found most respondents considered the opposition leader the most suitable choice for the position of prime minister and his party as their favourite.
Nida conducted the survey on 2,000 people sampled nationwide from June 19 to 25 and it found that opposition leader and People's Party chief Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut emerged as the most favoured candidate for the position of prime minister. Respondents’ support for him and his party was much greater than that for the ruling Pheu Thai Party and its leader, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra.
Of the respondents, 31.48% of respondents wanted Mr Natthaphong to be the prime minister today because he is of the young generation, has courage to express opinions and political stances and presents clear and modern ideas.
The second biggest group of respondents, 19.88%, said they did not see a suitable prime ministerial candidate.
The third largest group of respondents, 12.72%, considered Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha as the most suitable choice for the premiership. Gen Prayut is a privy councillor and former prime minister and former defence minister. He was a prime ministerial candidate of the United Thai Nation Party (UTN).
The poll found Gen Prayut was favoured for his honesty, straightforwardness and ability to restore national order. He did not appear as a choice for the prime ministerial position in the previous quarterly poll by Nida.
The fourth most popular choice was Bhumjaithai Party leader Anutin Charnvirakul who was supported by 9.64% of respondents, followed by incumbent Prime Minister and ruling Pheu Thai Party leader Paetongtarn Shinawatra favoured by 9.20% of respondents.
Ms Paetongtarn had been the most favoured choice as the prime minister in the previous quarterly Nida Poll in March when she received support from 30.9% of respondents while Mr Natthaphong had support from 22.90% of respondents.
Ms Paetongtarn has been heavily criticised after the leaked audio clip of her phone conversation with Cambodian Senate President Hun Sen earlier this month.
When respondents were asked about their favourite political party, the biggest group, 46.08%, chose the opposition-core People’s Party, followed by 13.24% for UTN, 11.52% for Pheu Thai and 9.76% for Bhumjaithai. Meanwhile, 7.72% of respondents did not have a favoured party.