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Weak government, stagnating economy

Leading representatives from the private sector on Wednesday voiced their concerns that a "weak government" would further dampen the economy.



Even without the political factor, the economy's prospects for the second half of the year look bleak. Thanks to an expected rise in inflation and the continuing economic doldrums, non-performing loans are set to rise. Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej thus has to take a leadership role  to sort out the current political impasse. The resignation of Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama will not be enough to ease the political tension. Three options arise: a major Cabinet reshuffle, the resignation en-masse of the entire Cabinet or House dissolution.

However, members of the private sector on Wednesday were of the opinion that House dissolution would not be a good solution at this point in time. Narongchai Akrasanee, the chairman of Exim Bank, said that if the prime minister dissolves the House, it would take time to form a new government. "We would have a political vacuum," he said.

Other businessmen also noted that a House dissolution would affect the budget disbursement because the budget bill is in its second reading. If the budget cannot be disbursed, the economic situation would worsen due to a lack of public investment.

The Thai economy is already suffering from uncontrollable factors such as inflation and rising oil prices. To curb the impact from economic woes, leading businessmen shared the view that political stability is what the private sector wants to see the most.

Investors will not decide on new investment projects under the term of the current weak government. Thus, people in power must show their leadership by taking the initiative to do something promptly to sort out the political impasse. Prime Minister Samak should also take some initiative instead of blaming everything on the Constitution law. There is more that Samak can do aside from putting all the blame on a piece of paper.


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