He will stress the rule of law, honesty and decency - values he said were totally absent in the Thaksin administration.

Was Surayud's performance good enough to boost confidence in his lacklustre government of the past four months?

Most observers say Surayud's attempt to run a clean government is commendable but it is not enough to deal with a host of problems requiring decisive action. They believe Surayud could do more to meet expectations and restore Thailand to democracy and a stable economic path.

Darunee Hiranrak, dean of the Faculty of Communication Arts at the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, said Surayud gave a glimpse of the complex relationship between his government and the National Security Council (CNS) and his vision of an honest government based on transparency and accountability.

"But in running the country during this time of political crisis, honesty and decency are not enough," she said. "The leader will need his wits and experience to cope with the host of problems facing the country."

Thepchai sometimes gave the prime minister a hard time, and he looked uncomfortable at first answering questions about his government's attempts to deal with ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's public relations blitz from abroad.

Most of the time, Surayud appeared defensive and tried to defend the record of his government over the past four months. Earlier, he told his "old ginger" Cabinet to speed up action and set priorities for their limited time in office.

He wants results.

"But people would like to hear more about what the government plans to do ahead. Surayud could have explained more clearly what he would like to accomplish," Darunee said.

Prayad Hongthongkham, a veteran political scientist, said Surayud should have paid closer attention to the main issue - results over the problems that sparked the coup.

"Prosecution of corruption scandals allegedly committed by the previous government should have finished in some cases. The Assets Examination Committee has been saying it has made headway in its investigation into corruption. But in reality, why has it taken so long?" he said.

Surayud replied the government relied on the rule of law. It did not sound convincing.

Worse, he blamed bureaucrats for failing to cooperate in corruption cases because they, too, might be implicated because of long association with the Thaksin administration.

Can something be done about uncooperative bureaucrats?

Overall, Surayud answered the tough political questions. But, as Prayad pointed out, the people want to know how his government will follow up and get things done.

"The government seems to be too polite. If I were the prime minister I would have told people without real knowledge or any direct involvement in the Suvarnabhumi Airport to stop airing their views or making criticisms which confuses the situation," he said.

Sukhum Nualsakul, political scientist and former Ramkhamhaeng University rector, said the government's popularity was going downhill. "The people might not expect too much from an interim government as it might not have the political will to follow through with its policies," he said.

As business and consumer confidence is reaching a low, with the economy potentially growing at less than 4 per cent this year, Surayud might need to show more leadership and introduce bold programmes to inject confidence.

Somchai Kulimakin, president of Global Connections, said he agreed with Surayud that government action has to be based on the rule of law.

"We understand the government but now the government should accelerate the process of budget disbursement because of diminishing market liquidity starting to eat into purchasing power," he warned.

Prawas Sontawakul, managing director of Samchai Steel Industries, gave Surayud a "fair" score. But he noted the government should have passed legislation such as progressive land tax or heritage tax.

Suriyasai Katasila, secretary-general of the Campaign for Popular Democracy, gave Surayud the thumbs down, saying the prime minister was using propaganda no different from the Thaksin era.

"He should have spelled out more clearly what will happen if Thaksin were to fly home tomorrow," he said.

Kornchanok Raksaseri

The Nation