Political instability hits confidence: poll
Confidence in Thai politics suffered a severe blow last month as the country faced volatile confrontations between pro- and anti-government groups, a survey has found.
The Suan Dusit Poll's Political Confidence Index in March saw the worst decline in a year, according to the Rajabhat Institute Suan Dusit, which conducts the monthly survey. The March index was recorded at 92.9, down from 94.1 in February and 102.6 in April last year, when the Rajabhat Institute Suan Dusit began the monthly survey, Asst Prof Sukhum Chaloeysap said yesterday. Eighteen of the 25 indices, including unity of countrymen and the performance of political parties, were down. Unity of countrymen suffered the worst decline of 5.53 points, followed by the opposition's performance (down 5.12) and the country's general situation (down 3.81). "The index of countrymen's unity has seen big declines since the political conflict began last October," Sukhum said. He said the Political Confidence Index had been on the decline since January, pointing to the ongoing political turmoil. In March, only five of the 25 indices saw an improvement on the previous month. The latest survey polled 9,470 people nationwide between March 20 and 31.
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