Govt ahead on 3 issues but behind on 2: poll

Results of a Suan Dusit poll released yesterday show that the Yingluck Shinawatra government has outpaced, trailed behind and been on par with the Abhisit Vejjajiva administration on several different factors.

This government is said to be outperforming the previous one on three issues, namely the Bt15,000 starting salary for all civil servants with a bachelor's degree; the Bt300 daily minimum wage; and the drug-suppression campaign.

However, the Abhisit government was seen to be superior on two counts - the Cabinet line-up and paddy-price intervention scheme. The only issue both governments are on a par with is education, while both of them have failed to end the political conflict and quelling violence in the South.

Meanwhile, Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva said yesterday that he was willing to drop his lawsuits related to the two financial decrees provided the government can outline its spending plans on water management and flood control.

"I have no intention of blocking the government's work on flood control and will end the court battle if the government can spell out its planned spending to justify the decrees," he said.

The main opposition party is seeking a judicial review from the Constitution Court on grounds that the government did not have the justification or the urgency to issue a decree on the Bt1.14-trillion debt transfer to the Bank of Thailand and one on the Bt350-billion flood-control loans.

The two decrees are designed to give the government more room for incurring public debt.

Abhisit said the government did not need additional loans for its flood-control measures.

Under the current budget, the government already has Bt200 billion at its disposal to spend on flood control as well as a mandate to seek additional loans of Bt150 billion without having to issue any decrees, he said.

He urged the government to focus on carrying out flood-prevention measures ahead of the rainy season instead of being obsessed with raising public debt even before it has worked out its spending plans.

Since Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra is scheduled to go on a field trip from February 13 to 17 to check on flood control, Abhisit said he hoped the trip would yield a tangible outcome. However, he added that he was worried the trip might just be a publicity stunt to re-circulate ideas for mega-projects that have never got off the drawing board.