The opposition Move Forward party revealed its in-depth analysis today of the performance of the government of Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin during its first 100 days in office.
Speaking at a press conference, Pita Limjaroenrat, advisory chairman of the party, said that they did not grade the performance of the government, but merely conduced an analytical study of it.
The study focusses on five areas, the first being areas where the government appears to be quite successful, said Pita, as he cited the safe return to Thailand of 23 Thai hostages held captive by Hamas in Gaza and the tackling of both formal and informal indebtedness.
The second area is where the government remains indecisive and keeps vacillating, such as the digital wallet scheme and salaries for government officials.
On the digital wallet scheme, Pita said that the government appears to lack a firm plan for how the scheme should proceed and keeps changing the plan, causing widespread confusion, particularly among investors.
He said that the government seems to lack a long-term plan on electricity charges and electric train fares, citing the 20-baht fare for the Purple and Red lines as an example of a short-term solution, without addressing the root cause of the expensive fares.
Concerning Thailand’s competitiveness, boosting tourism and inequality in Thai society, the former Move Forward party leader said that the prime minister appears not to have carefully thought out such policies and became upset when officials could not deliver the results as he had expected.
Another criticism is that the government did the opposite of what it had pledged in its manefesto, said Pita, as he cited the make-up of the constitution-drafting council and whether all the members should be elected, as well as the promised military reform.
For the coming year, he said he expects the government to have a clear strategic road map and plans to address pressing issues, such as drought, economic slowdown and government unity.
