The Political Popularity of the Pheu Thai Party among Udon Thani Villagers after the 2014 Coup

Abstract

This research aimed to 1) investigate the elements of political popularity for the Pheu Thai Party among so-called “Red-Shirt” villagers, 2) study the level of political popularity for the Pheu Thai Party among Red-Shirt villagers, 3) investigate the factors affecting the aforementioned political popularity, and 4) study the approaches of political popularity among Red-Shirt villagers towards the Pheu Thai Party. This study identified a population of 5,611 voters in 5 Red-Shirts villages of Muang District, Udon Thani Province. The sample size comprised 358 people who participated in in-depth interviews, with focus placed on 2 groups comprising 19 persons and 23 persons. The tool used for data collection was a questionnaire, which was analyzed by means, percentage, standard deviation, and multiple regression analysis. In-depth interviews were assessed by the inductive method. The results revealed that: (1) the elements of political popularity consisted of political ideology, political policies, political leadership, political candidates and administrative systems; (2) People who live in Red-Shirt villages have higher overall political affinity for the Pheu Thai Party; (3) The factors of political popularity from the aspects of political party policy and political leadership affect popularity towards the Pheu Thai Party at a .05 level of significance; (4) the approaches to political popularity should focus on developing party policies in line with reality and possibly more emphasis on marketing policies.