The lack of strong leadership in the interim government meant there was little break from the past. Even under the new constitution and after the general elections, the deputies approached their legislative duties with caution, voting conservatively and rejecting any legislation that might threaten the entrenched and wealthy upper class. Furthermore, the new civilian leadership feared offending the military and would not curb the privileges of powerful officers. In the years after the uprising, riots and strikes took place with higher frequency and insurgency in the hills seemed commonplace while taxes rose. Electric power was intermittent and Bangkok at night was sometimes darkened. This was made worse as the international situation in Indochina deteriorated. Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia all fell to communist forces in 1975, and the threat of communist groups in neighboring countries led to panic among the Thai people. The presence of communist regimes on Thai borders, the abolition of the 600 year-old Lao monarchy, and the arrival of a flood of refugees from Laos and Cambodia swung public opinion in Thailand to the right, resulting in conservatives gaining far more support in the 1976 elections than they had the previous year. This right-wing shift would culminate in the 6 October 1976 massacre of student protesters at Thammasat University, which marked the end of the "democratic period".