Businessmen put Somkid in box seat
A majority of businessmen want Somkid Jatusripitak as the next prime minister, according to an Abac Poll survey.
Of the 1,055 people surveyed on Wednesday, 57.4 per cent said Somkid was the most suitable candidate for premier. A high 71.8 per cent agreed with Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's decision to end the political impasse by saying he would not accept the post of premier once the next House is convened. Some 14.3 per cent disapproved of his decision on the grounds that the next prime minister might not continue the Thaksin government's policies. Asked whether the political turbulence had adversely affected their businesses, 52.6 per cent said yes and 47.4 per cent said no. Asked how Thaksin's decision had affected their confidence in the country's economy, 37.8 per cent said it was the same, 31.1 per cent said they were more confident and 31.1 per cent said they were less confident. Asked for their investment forecast for the next six months, 26 per cent said there would be more investment due to positive factors likely to boost consumption. Some 29.6 per cent expected no increase due to a lack of political direction. And 44.4 per cent said they were uncertain about future investment because the situation was still unstable, or because they did not know how the new government would promote investment. In terms of business equality - referring to fairness in being able to access contracts and other opportunities - 21.5 per cent of the businessmen believed they would see greater equality because of an increase in transparency and a decline in nepotism and emphasis on connections. A total of 27.9 per cent said they foresaw no difference, either because their businesses are not affected by politics or because they believed inequality would always exist, and 12.7 per cent believed there would be less equality because of lax controls. Some 37.9 per cent said they couldn't be sure until they knew the identity of the next prime minister. -------------------------------- Who do you prefer? The top five poliricians preferred by businessmen to become the next prime minister. Somkid Jatusripitak 57.4% Bhokin Bhalakula 11.8% Pongthep Thepkanchana 9.2% Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan 7.9% Suwat Liptapanlop 4.3%
|
