Poll: Samak won't last two years

[buksida]

Almost 60% of people questioned by the Abac Poll believe the new government under Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej will be in office less than two years.

The poll, conducted by Assumption University, assessed opinions of 3,506 people living in 27 provinces between January 20-30.

Some 58.5% said the government will be in office less than two years, although 48% said they want the government to complete its four-year term.

"People believe that the government won't be able to complete its term because it is a coalition that includes several small parties," said Noppadon Kanikar, director of Abac research centre. "This may cause conflicts between allies."

The respondents placed most faith in the ability of Prime Minister Samak to solve economic problems. They think the most vexing problem, which Mr Samak will be unable to solve while in office, is the violence and unrest in the deep South.

Source: Bangkok Post

Thaksin lawyer likely to be foreign minister
Final changes in the cabinet list for the new government have been made and it is expected they will be forwarded to His Majesty the King for approval in the next couple of days, deputy secretary-general of People Power party Noppadon Pattama said Thursday.

Mr Noppadon, who is also legal adviser of ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra said it is possible he will become foreign minister.

Thai-language media had speculated the Oxford-educated lawyer would get this post.

Source: Bangkok Post

Thoughts: The first poll is probably biased but it does show the flawed mentality of Thai politics. The second just proves the fact that this was just orchestrated to get Thaksin's cronies back into power and probably strengthens the validity of the poll as there are still large pro and anti Thaksin camps in Thailand.
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I've got a bad feeling about this

[buksida]

There was an interesting article in the Nation recently to follow up on this poll:

Govt 'is unlikely to last more than two years'
The new government will face obstacles ranging from the continued political divide, coalition partners' selfish demands and the possibility of yet another coup, a seminar was told yesterday.

Political scientist and National Legislative Assembly member Thawee Surarittikul, one of the speakers at the event organised by the NLA secretariat, predicts the new People Power Party-led coalition will likely last no more than two years.

"It will become a target of attack from the public, the opposition party, the media and the people," he said.

Thawee also predicts that the coming three months will witness an ugly scrambling for the political pie among coalition parties, while issues such as approval of mega-projects or granting amnesty to 111 former Thai Rak Thai executives could lead to another political crisis.

The advice he gives to the next prime minister includes the need to be moral in administrating the country and not to be brash.

Full Story: The Nation
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I've got a bad feeling about this