Thaksin’s Approval Rating On The Skids

[george]

Thaksin’s approval rating on the skids

BANGKOK: -- Public approval of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his government has plunged to its lowest point in eight months, according to a political confidence survey conducted by Suan Dusit Poll.

Associate Professor Sukhum Chaloeysup, vice-rector of Rajabhat Institute Suan Dusit, said the index declined to 97.83 points in November, down by 4.25 points from the previous month.

Public approval of Thaksin’s performance declined by 9.68 points from the previous month to 105.44 points, while public approval of the government’s performance dropped by 7.79 points to 103.41 points.

Thirteen of 25 areas of government performance raised by the survey hit their lowest point – in terms of public approval – since the beginning of the second Thaksin government.

The areas of most concern are the government’s performance in diminishing the influence of powerful figures (down by 7.40 points), politicians’ conduct and unity (down by 6.59 points), providing information (down by 6.19 points), solving drug problems (down by 5.98 points) and solving problems overall (down 5.95 points).

Compared to October’s results, the survey showed that the public is satisfied with the government’s performance in only one area, national security and anti-terrorism measures.

The latest survey was conducted between November 20 and November 30 among 8,701 respondents from all walks of life around the country.

Political scientist Prayad Hongthongkham said the survey indicated a decline in public

confidence because the government is unable to solve problems quickly.

This might be due to a lack of public confidence in key government officials, he said.

Sukhum Nualsakul, another political scientist, said it was normal for the government’s popularity to rise and fall.

The fall is partly because the public expects the government to solve their problems and they are disappointed when it fails to do so.

Sukhum said Thaksin must admit to his failings and improve his own work and that of the government.

--The Nation 2005-12-02

[britmaveric]

What's the total max points?

[p_brownstone]

What's the total max points?

Exactly.

Expressed like this the figures are pretty useless.

Starting from a known point and indicated as percentages, movements would be much more easily interpreted.

Patrick

Edited December 1, 2005 by p_brownstone

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Here's hoping that they spoil us with a bit of information.

[Jai Dee]

Deepening discontent

Editorial Opinion Published by The Nation on December 02, 2005

Growing anti-Thaksin sentiment reflects public demands for a new relationship with the govt. Many have long suspected that there must be a limit to how far Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s autocratic leadership can take him before the Thai public - even with its political cynicism, complacency and short memory span - will begin to turn against him. That limit appears to have been reached.

The volatile situation brought on by media tycoon Sondhi Limthongkul’s popular anti-Thaksin campaign is symptomatic of growing public disenchantment with the prime minister, who, only months ago, could virtually do no wrong in the eyes of the adoring public.

The Thaksin government’s current crisis of confidence, that has alienated members of the vocal and politically strong middle class in Bangkok and other urban centres, was a long time in coming.

Since Thaksin and his Thai Rak Thai party came to power almost five years ago, Thai society, including much of the middle class, has shown an extraordinary capacity to tolerate an unbroken string of corruption scandals involving the prime minister, his Cabinet members and their families.

The public has until now made copious allowances for the government’s alleged bad behaviour, ranging from cronyism to human rights violations, and from poor governance to bribery, in order to give Thaksin a free hand to run Thailand the way he saw fit. All this was based on the assumption that Thaksin would deliver on his populist promises to bring material wealth to the masses.

Thaksin’s quaint combination of CEO-style tenacity and paternalistic leadership has transformed the public psyche in a way that would have once been unimaginable. It is hard to believe that, in this time and age, the country’s democratisation and political reform process could have been reversed single-handedly by one political leader.

Suddenly, the majority of Thai people, or at least most of the electorate, found themselves cosying up to the brand of leadership that traces back to corrupt authoritarian regimes of the not so distant past, which relied on the cunning use of the power of patronage, suppression of civil liberties and manipulation of people’s unprincipled wants and needs to maintain a tight grip on power.

The cynical side of the collective mindset tried to rationalise the widespread corruption that is happening under Thaksin’s watch. One way of looking at it is that corruption is a small price to pay in order to reap the overwhelming benefits that Thaksin promised to deliver.

The public also became complacent and tended to take for granted the country’s hard-won democracy, along with its attendant legal and institutional frameworks that provide checks and balances against the government and guarantee civil liberties, which have been rolled back systematically by the Thaksin government.

The public tried to turn a blind eye to the excesses of Thaksin, his Cabinet members and their cronies while secretly hoping that the prime minister would know better not to cross the line. But that only emboldened Thaksin and his associates, who apparently saw public acquiescence as the licence to exploit the political mandate beyond the bounds of decency.

In a way, the Sondhi phenomenon and the growing anti-Thaksin sentiments reflect the simmering discontent among the middle class, which is growing outraged over the perceived wholesale corruption, flagrant violations of civil liberties and insidious undermining of democratic institutions and shameless bending of rules to monopolise political power by Thaksin and his Thai Rak Thai party.

If Thaksin had been a more sophisticated leader with a keener sense of proportion and subtlety, and if the Thai economy had not been hit by a plethora of problems that largely negated most of his populist policies, it would have taken longer for public discontent to build up.

It must be pointed out that to the growing ranks of the anti-Thaksin crowd, it matters little if Sondhi may be harbouring questionable motives, or if most of the corruption allegations are old news. People are stirring from a long slumber and they are not happy with the Thailand they see. They are relearning the importance of making their voices heard. But what matters most are the lessons they have drawn from living through Thaksin’s rule.

[Jai Dee]

GOVT SPOKESMAN SAID EVERYONE IS ALLOWED TO EXPRESS THEIR OPINION ON GOVT'S WORK, BUT MUST NOT VIOLATE PERSONAL RIGHTS OF OTHERS

Government spokesperson Surapong Suebwonglee (สุรพงษ์ สืบวงศ์ลี) reiterated that everybody can express one's opinion on the performance of the government, but one must not violate other people’s rights.

Dr. Surapong said that the government is evaluating the political situation all the time. He said that the government was not worried about the current situation, as it has many issues to deal with, such as the elimination of obscene media beginning in December.

As for the report concerning nepotism, Dr Surapong said that he had explained the issues already, adding that sometimes the names of politicians were exploited. However, he said that corruption will eventually subside.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 02 December 2005