The Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) is most likely to be successful in forming the core of a new government, followed by the Pheu Thai Party and a coalition of the mid-sized Future Forward, Democrat and Bhumjaithai parties, according to the result of an opinion survey by Suan Dusit Rajabhat University, or Suan Dusit Poll.
The poll was conducted on May 14-18 on 1,132 people throughout the country.
Asked whether Pheu Thai could and should form the core of a new government, 43.76% said it should be given the chance because it has the highest number of MPs in parliament; 39.59% said its chances rest with the number of House seats it can muster in a coalition; and 20.92% thought it is unlikely to be able to gather sufficient support to form a government.
As for the PPRP, 46.03% said the party had a good chance of successfully forming a government with support from small parties; 35.44% said it has strong bargaining power, with support from the current government; and 31.26% want the formation of a new government to be fair and transparent.
Asked about the chance that mid-sized parties -- Future Forward, Democrat and Bhumjaithai -- could form a new government, 50.47% said this option is interesting as people want to see change; 36.84% said they have the right to do so as long as it is lawful; and 16.02% said this is unlikely because they would find it difficult to get enough support from the other parties.
Asked which of the three options they think would be successful, a slim majority - 51.54% - said the PPRP has the best chance because of it commands a large number of MPs and support from 11 small parties; 35.93% said Pheu Thai, with the highest number of MPs, could also be successful, depending on negotiations with other parties; and 12.53% said a coalition of mid-sized parties also has a chance as the political situation is still uncertain.
Asked on which principles the new government should be formed, 52.53% said all concerned should adhere to democratic principles; 38.55% said they should respect the voice of the majority; and 21.48% said the formation should be acceptable to all.
