Is this legal? No farangs welcome...

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Portugal's ruling Socialists claim election victory, likely fall short of majority

By Victoria Waldersee and Sergio Goncalves

 

Supporters of Portugal's Prime Minister and Socialist Party (PS) candidate Antonio Costa watch opposition candidate Rui Rio of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) talking on a television screen, after preliminary results in the general election in Lisbon, Portugal, October 6, 2019. REUTERS/Jon Nazca

 

LISBON (Reuters) - Portugal's ruling Socialists scored "a great victory" in Sunday's parliamentary election and will seek to form a stable government, senior Socialist lawmaker Ana Catarina Mendes said as preliminary results pointed to a win without an outright majority.

 

The main question now is who Prime Minister Antonio Costa will pick as allies to stay in power after ruling for the past four years with support from the two hard-left parties - the Left Bloc and the Communists.

 

The leaders of both those parties said they had no objections to Costa being nominated as premier and were open to negotiate if the Socialists committed to improving the lives of workers.

 

"There is no obstacle for the president to appoint the prime minister and for the government to be formed and start working," said Communist leader Jeronimo de Souza. "We will determine our position depending on the PS' choices, on its budget instruments and the content of its legislative proposals."

 

Left Bloc leader Catarina Martins said she was ready to negotiate with Costa either a full pact for the whole legislature or on a case-by-case basis, but added that "our commitments are to defend those who work, to save the national health service and recover public investment".

 

Official results will trickle in through the evening. With about 54% of the vote counted, the Socialists led with 36.7%. Preliminary results tend to initially focus more on smaller towns and the final picture could still change.

 

The main opposition Social Democrats (PSD) were on 24.2% to 31% of the exit polls and 28.4% of the preliminary results.

 

The range of percentages of votes given by the pollsters was quite wide. Depending on how close the outcome eventually is, a clear picture could emerge quickly or take days or even weeks.

 

'WE GOT STRONGER'

At the Socialist Party (PS) election rally, supporters stood up cheering as the exit polls were published.

 

"It's a great victory for the PS, that's what has to be underscored. The party will seek to have a stable four-year government solution for Portugal," Mendes, the PS deputy secretary general, told supporters.

 

The four exit polls put the Socialists in a range of 33.3 to 40%. While it was not immediately clear if even the most optimistic scenario could deliver a full majority, it would in any case give them more seats than in the last election, in 2015.

 

"We got stronger from this election and we will be able to continue with our policies," said 25-year-old supporter Miguel Matos.

 

Costa was seen getting a boost from the southern European country's economy. It is growing more than the EU average, helped by export growth and a booming tourism industry that last year saw more tourists visit Portugal than it has inhabitants.

 

Post-election negotiations are not expected to be as messy as in neighbouring Spain, which still has no government more than five months after elections and is heading for a repeat vote in November.

 

In 2015, it took less than two months for Costa, whose party had come in second behind the PSD, to strike an unexpected alliance with two far-left, Eurosceptic parties and be sworn in as prime minister.

 

The People-Animals-Nature party (PAN) attracted more votes than in the previous election, riding a wave of popularity among pro-environment parties in much of Europe. But it was not immediately clear if it could become a kingmaker, landing in a range of 2.3% to 5.3% of the vote.

 

"It's a very good result. I still wish it was more, because the country needs to move quickly to tackle the climate emergency," PAN supporter Paulo Santos, 43, said at the party's evening rally.

 

The election already claimed its first political victim. Assuncao Cristas, the leader of the rightist CDS-PP party, announced her resignation after a record low result.

 

(Reporting by Sergio Goncalves, Catarina Demony, Andrei Khalip and Victoria Waldersee; Writing by Ingrid Melander and Andrei Khalip; Editing by Frances Kerry and Peter Cooney)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-10-07

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[flossie35]

Good news. Portugal leads the way in getting free from neo-liberal economics.

[Nyezhov]

1 hour ago, flossie35 said:

Good news. Portugal leads the way in getting free from neo-liberal economics.

I have been thinking about some time in Portugal, the problem is the EU is so unnattractive socially, financially and politically that I keep putting off any decision. Hopefully, wiith the socialists hobbled there, it might be nicer. Im only praying for Brexit and the final demise of the EU.

[jollyhangmon]

1 hour ago, Nyezhov said:

I have been thinking about some time in Portugal, the problem is the EU is so unnattractive socially, financially and politically that I keep putting off any decision. Hopefully, wiith the socialists hobbled there, it might be nicer. Im only praying for Brexit and the final demise of the EU.

 

... yeah, I'm pretty sure 'the EU' will forever regret the missed opportunity of you visiting  ... 

[bristolboy]

15 minutes ago, jollyhangmon said:

 

... yeah, I'm pretty sure 'the EU' will forever regret the missed opportunity of you visiting  ... 

Clearly don't understand that the alleged details of his personal life are not only fascinating in themselves, but entirely germane to the issue in question.

[Nyezhov]

18 minutes ago, jollyhangmon said:

 

... yeah, I'm pretty sure 'the EU' will forever regret the missed opportunity of you visiting  ... 

well duh, they wont, just like Thailand doesnt miss the complaining mommys basement crowd. Im smart enough to realize that unless Im willing to drop a cool million US, no one is putting the welcome mat out for me anywhere.

 

Ive been thinking of Italy too and have been waiting for one of those "Thailand sucks so lets move to Italy" topics so I can think about it further. 

 

 

[jollyhangmon]

1 hour ago, Nyezhov said:

well duh, they wont, just like Thailand doesnt miss the complaining mommys basement crowd. Im smart enough to realize that unless Im willing to drop a cool million US, no one is putting the welcome mat out for me anywhere.

 

Ive been thinking of Italy too and have been waiting for one of those "Thailand sucks so lets move to Italy" topics so I can think about it further. 

 

 

 

With the shift in currency value I now tend to stay longer over in Europe than I did until maybe 4 or5 years ago, basically it's only the cooler weather that 'forces' me out - which is just too long and in some higher spots in Austria can be as early as end of August, then again September in most places is golden, so is the meanwhile pretty acceptable outdoor crop ...

 

This year started out in Spain where I fairly speak the tongue in April, bailing out before Songkran - excellent food, wine & weed (some good North African hash too), prices these days only slightly above TH (all spoken in general, sure heavily depends on which particular places one compares on both ends) but certainly what you get is - again generally - of superior quality.
Stopped over in Hungary mid Mai, sh!tty government that runs them into the ground but nice folks especially when having command of their language too, food is to point out, beer excellent too, weed getting better with imported genetics as weather perfect, prices lower than TH (generally ...).

 

Flew back into LOS early Sept. from Schiphol after a good week of relaxing in the Netherlands (from the stress of vacationing) - now that was kind of expensive, for obvious reasons - as that's the time of the year when I find it to cool already, spoilt as I am after close to 2 decades in the tropics.
 
Nope, nothing wrong with the EU at all, I'm afraid but waiting for their demise will be in vain, getting rid of some of the suckers yes, maybe ... actually, hopefully so & quick ...

[Nyezhov]

18 minutes ago, jollyhangmon said:

This year started out in Spain where I fairly speak the tongue in April, bailing out before Songkran - excellent food, wine & weed

I have been thinking about Spain this March instead of Koh Chang. 

[alan grice]

Socialists Yes , but not nutty ones like U.k. And Australia.


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