Elections Portugal: today we vote, head to head between PS and PSD
The Portugal vote today to renew Parliament and a head-to-head is expected: the socialists in government with the outgoing prime minister Antonio Costafavored by the polls until recently, have in recent weeks been joined in the voting intentions by the opposition of center-right of the Social Democratic Party. Meanwhile, the National Electoral Commission has assured that it will be possible to vote in “absolute safety” despite the record number of people infected with the Omicron variant of the coronavirus; even those in solitary confinement will be able to go to the polls without fear, the Commission said. “There is no doubt that voting is safe, so there is no justification for any citizen not to vote because they fear their health,” Commission number one Vera Penedo said at a press conference, insisting on the fact. that “everyone should vote”. At the moment, over 1.1 million Portuguese, about a tenth of the population, are isolated because they are positive for Covid.
Elections Portugal, Costa’s socialist model is shaking
At the beginning of last November, the leader Costa’s party was leading by 13 points, when the rejection of the 2022 budget by the former left allies triggered the government crisis. But, according to the latest polls, the Socialist Party is now with 35-36% of the vote while the center-right, represented by the Social Democratic Party of the former Porto mayor Riu Rio, it reached 33%, and the percentage of undecided is between 15 and 20% of the 10.8 million voters called to the polls. In the language of the pollsters, this is a “technical parity” which makes the two opposite scenarios equally possible.
Portugal elections risk total fragmentation and ungovernability
The two parties have alternated since the arrival of democracy in Portugal, with the Carnation Revolution of 1974. The winner of the elections in Portugal will have to face several challenges, from guaranteeing governability in an increasingly fragmented political map, to the pandemic that has not yet been defeated to culminate in the need for an economic and social recovery of the country. Whoever wins, will have to reach an alliance pact with the minority parties of his parliamentary sphere, but an agreement between the two main parties may be necessary: without arriving, as it already happened in 1983, in a sort of large Portuguese-style koalition, a “gentlemen agreement” is aimed at to facilitate a government led by the party with more votes in the event that sufficient majorities are formed on the left or right.
READ ALSO:
Quirinale, Mattarella re-elected. Who wins and who loses among the leaders. Report cards
Mattarella and those embarrassing interceptions on his brother Nino
Hitler, Draghi and the cartoon of the scandal
#Elections #Portugal #recover #Costas #socialist #model #wobbles