Public sees PM's Prem visit as aiding reconciliation

Abac poll released survey results yesterday showing that 49.8 per cent of respondents believed Yingluck’s visit to Prem helped advance the cause of national reconciliation more effectively than issuing a royal amnesty and reconciliation law, while 26 per cent did not believe her visit would pave the way for national reconciliation. Some 22 per cent believed both her visit and a royal amnesty law would bring about national reconciliation.
Of the total respondents surveyed by Dusit poll, 43 per cent believed Yingluck’s visit to Prem had a political implication, signifying readiness to bring about national reconciliation; 53 per cent believed her visit was to show respect to a respected national figure; 27 per cent believed it was to discuss important or confidential issues; and 14 per cent believed it was a good start to national reconciliation.
The Abac poll showed that although most Thais want peace and reconciliation, 73.1 per cent believe a group of people are orchestrating out of self-interest a movement that prevents national reconciliation because they do not want to lose power, while 26.9 per cent did not believe there was any such thing.
Asked by Abac how the country can arrive at national reconciliation, 35.2 per cent said bringing about social justice without discrimination; 30.2 per cent said getting conflicting groups to iron out their differences, curb prejudice and promote unity and compassion; 15 per cent said politicians must stop making conditions that lead to conflicts and the media must stop highlighting conflicts in their coverage; 14.2 per cent said bringing about equality and bridging the income gap would bring about reconciliation; and 5.4 per cent believed amnesty and amending the charter would do the trick.
Some 73.5 per cent believed the rising cost of living must be the government’s top priority, followed by bringing about national reconciliation (67 per cent), improving quality of education (64 per cent), solving the drug problem (59 per cent), cracking down on corruption (57 per cent), and tackling political ethics problems (53 per cent).
In relation to the parliamentary voting scandal, 76.8 per cent believed MPs voting on behalf of absent colleagues violated political ethics.