There is public scepticism about the government's road map for reconciliation with many people - 66 per cent of respondents in a recent survey saying they doubted it would be successful, Abac Poll said yesterday.
Nonetheless, some 68 per cent of respondents voiced support for the government for trying to promote reconciliation by forming an independent panel to consider national reforms.
About two in five people pinpointed the bureaucracy as the most important factor responsible for difficulties that people endure.
Grievances triggered by bureaucrats include corruption, bribery demands, rudeness and discriminatory and unfair treatment, such as allowing a jump in the queue for public services.
The survey was based on a sampling of 1,689 households.
Pheu Thai Party spokesman Prompong Nopparit said the road map for reconciliation was nothing but an illusory dream churned out by the government in order to cling on to power.
"Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva will never succeed because he is doing the opposite to what he is saying about reconciliation," Prompong claimed.
He said all four panels in charge of reconciliation were filled with people from the "government side". To draw an analogy of a game, he said it was like the government had control over the players and the referees, plus invoked the emergency rule to fault its opponents.
He said the resumption of normalcy would hinge on whether the government would welcome talks with the opposition about peace.
Noppadon Pattama, a legal adviser to fugitive former PM Thaksin Shinawatra, said he was disappointed at the government's "rejection" of peace talks.
"The people want to get out of the crisis now and not just a road map to draw up a blueprint in six months which is essentially a ploy by the prime minister to cling to office," he claimed.
In his weekly address, Prime Minister Abhisit confirmed he was determined to bring about reconciliation, although he said his fence-mending mission would not cover those charged for terrorism.
"Reconciliation is designed to advance the country forward and not a political gimmick to help terrorists elude the law," he said.
The PM denied speculation that the government would exact revenge by hunting down red shirts.
All sectors of society had been invited to take part in the reconciliation process while the government would act in a supporting role to facilitate the reforms deemed necessary to end the divisiveness, he said, dismissing concerns about government domination.
He said he welcomed the independent panel led by Kanit na Nakorn to enter into talks with red-shirt leader Veera Musigapong in order to seek truth and reconciliation related to the unrest.