“I am so over him. But you [the media], you’re not. And you keep reporting [news] about him,” Prayut responded after first pretending not to hear the question and asking the reporter to repeat herself.

Asked whether he was also “over” his former boss – former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who is believed to have recently fled the country – the general said he was “over” everyone from conflicting parties. But that did not mean he disrespected them, he said.

“By getting over them, I mean I don’t think of them. I don’t give importance to this kind of stuff, because I’m not like they say I am,” he said.

He said he “got over” these people on his first days in office, and now he just wanted justice to prevail.

Clearly upset, Prayut continued: “I’d really like you to do the same and start asking better questions. Ask about my trip to join the BRICS meeting. Ask me if I’m tired or how much Thailand is welcome there. But you never care.”

The prime minister went on to say issues had been neglected in the past, which had resulted in people coming out into the streets to fight one another.

He asked whether the media was trying to provoke people again. Clearly irritated, Prayut said that finally the blame would be placed upon him.

Abhisit Vejjajiva, leader of the Democrat Party, who was also mentioned in the poll, said yesterday that there was a need to boost people’s faith in political parties.

The poll of more than 33,000 people 18 years old and above ranked groups with political influence. It was conducted between April 24 and May 15.

The major parties ranked low in the recent survey. The Democrat Party – which is the oldest in the country – ranked lowest at 36.3 per cent, with non-governmental organisations at 38.3 per cent, and Pheu Thai Party at 39.4 per cent.

Losing credibility

Abhisit said all political parties were in a situation where they were losing credibility.

“I have always stressed that political parties must try to regain confidence and faith among the people. Partly, it will be clearer after political activities are allowed again,” he said. “In the meantime, we can take time to think about how we will change, as the people have been dissatisfied with our work.”

The survey revealed on Tuesday that Thaksin was the most popular and credible prime minister in the past 15 years.

Thaksin’s popularity rating was highest at 87.8 per cent in 2003 while Prayut’s was 87.5 in 2015, a year after he seized power.

Although the general’s peak rating was lower than Thaksin’s by 0.3 per cent, Prayut is shown in the poll to have better popularity than Thaksin during the downturn.

He received 84.8 per cent in 2017 while Thaksin’s plunged to 77.2 in 2006.