Most people are of the opinion that it is now time to have new political parties and new politicians with quality for changes to the betterment of the country, according to the result of an opinion poll conducted by Suan Dusit Rajabhat University, or Suan Dusit Poll.
The poll was carried out between Nov 15-18 on 1,043 people who were asked to answer to the six questions raised by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.
To the first question on whether they think it is now necessary to have new political parties and new politicians, most or 41.33% of the respondents said "yes"; 21.48% said people of a new generation should have new ideas for the country's development and changes toward the betterment; 14.84% said it is unnecessary for political parties and politicians to be new or old ones as long as they are good and not corrupt; 11.56% said the old political system should be abolished to make way for new faces; and, 10.79% said old-fashioned politicians always quarrel, causing damage to the country.
To the second question on whether the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) has the right to support a political party, 34.91% said the NCPO should stay impartial; 31.94% thought the NCPO can support any political party; 21.70% said the NCPO has the right to do so, but should not interfere in politics; 6.83% said in doing so the NCPO may be seen as holding double-standards; and 4.62% said it could lead to further division.
To the question whether what the NCPO and the current government have done during the past three years have yielded anything good for the country's future, 30.99% said "yes" but gradually; 22.52% said they were good during the first two years but have lately done very little; 19.32% thought they are good at only some matters; 14.77% said the economy and people's livelihood are not getting any better; and, 12.40% said the country is in peace, without protests.
To the fourth question on should the formations of the past elected governments be compared to the formation of government at this time, 53.83% said they should not be brought for comparison as the situations before and now are different; 25.34% said they saw nothing wrong with doing so; 9.23% said the past shortcomings should be taken as a lesson to make corrections; 6.67% said the country wants an elected government; and, 4.84% said each government has its own work style.
In responding to the fifth question which seeks to know whether the past governments and politics in democracy had clearly shown good governance and continued development, a majority or 64.26% said "no"; only 17.82% said "yes"; 9.37% were of the opinion that the Thai politics have been plagued with the patronage system; 4.74% said corruption has been deep-rooted in Thai society; and, 3.81% said all past governments had both the good and bad points.
To the sixth question why political parties and politicians have continued to criticise and discredit the NCPO and the government in an unusually large scale, 30.11% said it is a fight for power and interests; 26.64% said it is because politicians have been unfairly treated; 20.67% said the government has been inefficient in their administration; 11.35% wanted to see an election as soon as possible; and, 11.23% said it is because the government's work lacks accountability.
