A majority of people say Pheu Thai is the "most interesting party" to them - among both new and old parties - according to Suan Dusit Poll.
The poll was conducted on 1,105 people throughout the country between June 12-23 amid reports of former MPs being courted by new parties and preparations being made by both new and old political parties for a general election, expected to be held in February.
The survey found that among previously-existing political parties, Pheu Thai is still most interesting to 55.59% of the respondents, followed by the Democrat Party with 39.89% and Bhumjaithai at 4.52%.
Asked which of the new political parties most appeals to them, 57.51% of the respondents named Future Forward Party; 24.35% Palang Pracharat Party; and 18.14% Palang Chart Thai Party.
Asked to name their top five political parties from both the old and new guard, Pheu Thai featured in the choices of 55.02%; Future Forward 34.18%; Democrat 33.88%; Palang Pracharat 17.39%; and Bhumjaithai 12.59%.
Asked whether the political parties will influence their votes for MPs, a slight majority, 54.33%, said "yes", saying they will base their decision more on political parties than on individual candidates, while 45.67% said "no", saying that their decision is based more on individual candidates.
Asked to compare the importance of "candidates" versus "parties", 41.63% said they give equal importance to both; 36.92% said their emphasis is on individual candidates; and 21.45% said they give more importance to political parties, saying that only parties with good policies and administration can adequately support their candidates.
