Respondents of a poll split if Thaksin returns as next premier
Opinions of residents in and around Bangkok seemed almost evenly split on the prospect of caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra returning as the next prime minister, an Abac Poll revealed on Wednesday.
Noppadon Kannika, director of Assumption University's Abac Poll said 44.4 per cent of respondents said the Thai Rak Thai Party should propose another person to be the next prime minister, and 42.7 per cent said they wanted Thaksin to offer himself as a candidate.More than 87 per cent of those polled said political parties should bow to the courts' decisions, regarding them as reliable institutions whose verdicts would offer the best solution to society. More than 7 per cent said the parties should not accept the courts' decisions and about 5 per cent had no comment, Noppadon said. Almost 80 per cent of respondents believed the popularity of political parties who defy the courts' ruling would fall. About 13 per cent said the parties had the right to reject the decision while about 8 per cent did not comment, he said. A little over 50 per cent of those polled said the Democrat Party had conducted itself well while waiting for the courts' ruling. More than 43 per cent said the Thai Rak Thai had behaved appropriately, while the Chat Thai Party and the Mahachon Party got a pat on the back from 24 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively, Noppadon said. About 86 per cent of respondents were agreeable to the idea of opposition parties taking part in the next election while about 10 per cent opposed it. Some 61 per cent said it was undemocratic for MPs of one party to occupy almost all of the 500 House seats. However, about onethird of respondents said it was democratic, Noppadon said. The people also seemed evenly divided about what should come first - Constitutional amendments, or the next election. About 43 per cent said the amendment should be a priority, while about 40 per cent said the election should come first, he said. Noppadon said the survey results showed people's opinions had not changed since last month and the present political situation continued to be a source of worry and stress. The survey was conducted on Monday and Tuesday with 1,266 respondents. The Nation
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