Portugal faces political crisis as leftists vow to topple new government

[Eugene]

Source: The Guardian

Portugal faces political crisis as leftists vow to topple new government

Jon Henley
Monday 26 October 2015 18.19 GMT

Portugal appeared headed for months of political uncertainty – even crisis – on Monday after the main opposition Socialists and their allies pledged to bring down the country’s new minority government as early as next week.

Pedro Passos Coelho, controversially nominated as prime minister last week by president Aníbal Cavaco Silva following inconclusive elections on 4 October, looks set to fall at the first hurdle when he seeks parliamentary backing for the new centre-right government’s programme, which he is obliged to do within 10 days of taking office.

His rightwing Forward Portugal Alliance (PAF), which over the past four years has pushed through a raft of tough pay, pension and public spending cuts as well as swingeing tax hikes as part of Portugal’s €78bn bailout agreement, won the most votes and has the largest bloc of seats in parliament, but lost its overall majority.

The moderate Socialist party and its allies – the Communists, Greens and Left Bloc – now control 122 seats in Portugal’s 230-seat parliament and the party leader, António Costa, has insisted a leftist alliance could form a stable and durable government. He accused Cavaco Silva of “wasting time” by nominating a prime minister who lacks majority parliamentary support.

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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/26/portugal-political-crisis-leftists-vow-topple-government

[LoveIsNow]

1. "Inconclusive election"?

There is a coalition waiting in the wings to govern!

[Ghost Dog]

2. What's worrying is that the president, because 'international finance' would react negatively,

has publicly suggested that such an anti-austerity government would be a threat to the 'national security' of the republic and so the democratically-expressed will of the people should be overridden. At the least he can resist with the pro-austerity minority while mandating a fresh election. At most, I suppose, he can suspend parliament and mobilise armed forces. But perhaps the president himself should be impeached...

"...Almost two thirds of the electorate (62%) – the combined votes of the Socialists, Left Bloc and Communists – voted against rightwing austerity policies, Costa has pointed out. But the president, a former leader of Passos Coelho’s Social Democratic party (PSD), has made it clear he has grave reservations about any Portuguese government propped up by what he described last week as an anti-European, hard-left faction...

...Germany’s chancellor, Angela Merkel, last week described the prospect of a radical anti-austerity coalition in Portugal as “very negative” and Portuguese bond yields rose on Monday, signalling investor fears of a prolonged period of political instability that could damage Portugal’s still-fragile recovery... op. cit."

IMO, were Portugal to leave the eurozone (put perhaps preferably not the EU), switching to a national currency with favorable exchange and interest rates, and apply anti-austerity measures to invest to improve immediate and long-term social & environmental welfare, create employment and stimulate the domestic economy as well as exports, they would probably do well.