Poll Shows Thaksin’s Popularity at 3-Year Low

Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s popularity has fallen to 45.9 percent, the lowest level in three years and a sharp decline from when he overwhelmingly won re-election in February, according to a poll released Monday.

Thaksin’s reputation has suffered from corruption scandals and soaring world oil prices that forced the government to reduce its subsidies for gasoline, causing fuel prices to rise to record highs.

The nationwide survey by Assumption University’s Abac Poll Research Center showed that Thaksin's approval ratings have plunged since February, when Thaksin took office for a second term after a landslide election victory and had a rating of 77.5 percent.

The poll of 4,634 people in 23 provinces found Thaksin’s approval rating ranged from a high of 64.3 percent in his native northern region to 19.7 percent in the south—the scene of unrest fueled by Islamic insurgency and heavy-handed government efforts to counter it. The poll's margin of error was 3 percent.

The poll found that among people disapproving of Thaksin’s performance, 80.8 percent cited concerns about corruption.

The government has been buffeted by criticism over the procurement of bomb-detecting machines for Bangkok’s new international airport, scheduled to open next year. Anomalies in the price led to suspicions of kickbacks and bribes, and Transport Minister Suriya Jungrungreankit faced a no-confidence debate on the matter late last month.

The transport minister survived the vote largely because Thaksin’s Thai Rak Thai party holds a commanding majority in parliament. A separate scandal involving stock market manipulation recently led to the resignation of a minor Cabinet member.

A survey question pitting Thaksin’s popularity against opposition Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva gave the prime minister 45.9 percent to his rival's 38.8 percent. Abhisit led the attack on Suriya in the no-confidence debate, and was generally accorded high marks for his performance by the press and the public.

The opinion poll, which was front-page news in many Thai papers on Monday, apparently irritated Thaksin, who is notoriously thin-skinned about criticism. Speaking to reporters before flying south to meet with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Phuket on Monday, he called media coverage “very bad ... unacceptable.”