LISBON, Jan 31 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Portugal’s ruling Socialists unexpectedly won an outright majority to govern solo after snap elections on Sunday that also saw the far right make huge gains.
The results pave the way for a stronger government under Prime Minister Antonio Costa as the country tries to boost its tourism-dependent economy, which has been badly hit by the pandemic.
A stable government is crucial for Portugal to make the most of a 16.6 billion euro package of European Union recovery funds it is due to receive by 2026.
Costa, 60, had previously relied on two far-left parties to underpin his minority Socialist governments since 2015.
The Socialists received 41.7 percent of the vote giving it 117 seats in the 230-seat parliament, up from 108 in the outgoing assembly.
Despite predictions of a tight race, the main opposition centre-right PSD party landed 27.8 percent for 71 seats.
Four seats still need to be attributed in the coming days with the results of votes cast abroad, but in 2019 the Socialists obtained two.
“An absolute majority doesn’t mean absolute power. It doesn’t mean to govern alone. It’s an increased responsibility,” Costa said in his victory speech.
“The conditions have been created to carry out investments and reforms for Portugal to be more prosperous, fairer, more innovative.”
The results bucked the trend of declining fortunes for Socialist parties in other European nations, including in Greece and France where they have been virtually wiped off the map in recent years.
The vote also handed gains to far-right party Chega, which became the third-biggest contingent with 12 seats, up from just one, mirroring the rise of such formations elsewhere in Europe.
“Everything is going to be different in parliament,” Chega leader Andre Ventura, a tough-talking former TV sports commentator, told his supporters.
“From now on there won’t be a soft opposition. We will assume the role of being the real opposition to the Socialists…and restore dignity to this country.”
Sunday’s snap polls were called after two far-left parties that had propped up Costa’s minority government sided with right-wing parties to reject his 2022 draft budget in October.
The two far-left parties — the Left Bloc and the Communist Party — both lost seats.
Under Costa’s watch, Portugal has rolled back austerity measures, maintained fiscal discipline, increased the minimum wage significantly and slashed unemployment to pre-pandemic levels.
The country also achieved the highest immunisation rate against Covid-19 in Europe, with over 90 percent of its population fully vaccinated. — NNN-AGENCIES
