Socialists retain power in Portugal elections
LISBON, Portugal – The center-left Socialist Party retained power in Portuguese elections Sunday, despite the country’s highest jobless rate in 20 years.
“We have once more been chosen to govern Portugal,” Prime Minister Jose Socrates, the Socialist leader, said. “This is a clear and extraordinary victory.”
With over 99 percent of votes counted, the incumbent Socialists had 36.5 percent compared with 29 percent for the center-right Social Democratic Party, the main opposition party.
Three smaller parties also secured seats in Parliament. The conservative Popular Party polled 10.5 percent, while the more radical socialist Left Bloc had almost 10 percent, and the Communist/Green coalition almost 8 percent. Eleven fringe parties appeared to win too few votes to earn seats in Parliament. The turnout was 60.5 percent.
Socrates has pledged big-ticket public works projects to stimulate growth amid forecasts that the economy will contract by as much as 4 percent this year. Some 500,000 people – just over 9 percent of the work force – are unemployed.
The Social Democrats proposed fighting the economic crisis by facilitating private investment. They rejected a stimulus package of state investment, saying public works will saddle future generations with debt.
Conceding defeat, Social Democrat leader Manuela Ferreira Leite said her party would continue to oppose the Socialist spending plan in the single-chamber Parliament.
“The Social Democratic Party won’t keep quiet nor will it be intimidated,” she said.
Socrates has blamed Portugal’s economic woes on the global meltdown, and vowed to stick with a modernizing social and economic reform program that has antagonized many, especially trade unions.
The Socialists are ready to spend $7.3 billion on a new Lisbon airport, $4.4 billion on a bullet train link to Spain and $2.5 billion on a road and rail bridge across the River Tagus at Lisbon.
More Stories
USF admin’s response to suicides unclear. What we know so far.
USF’s administration will not say who or how it will prevent future suicides on campus a month after a student leapt from an upper floor balcony of the Interdisciplinary Science Building – the third suicide since fall 2022. The Oracle has asked repeatedly about which USF administrators are overseeing suicide prevention initiatives and how the […]
USF SG leaders look back on campaign accomplishments while on non-speaking terms
Student body president Cesar Esmeraldi and vice president Elizabeth Volmy reached nearly every campaign goal during their term. The one thing that didn’t persevere was their unity. The pair ended their tenure reflecting on it from separate rooms. “We’ve had a great year,” Esmeraldi said. “I’m very happy with everything we’ve built. But because of […]
USF’s ‘Take Back the Night’ allows sexual survivors to share pain, resilience: ‘Recovery isn’t easy.’
A sexual assault survivor, who was the first speaker at Wednesday evening’s “Take Back the Night,” said the hardest day of their life was not when they were assaulted – it was the day after. “When I had to call my mom and tell her how her [child lost their] virginity and tell my therapist […]
USF campus ministers offer perspective on stadium development: ‘Exciting benefit of exposure.’
Take a tranquil stroll down Sycamore Drive. It’s a quieter part of campus, hidden away from the usual hustle and bustle of USF. It’s home to an area colloquially known as “Religious Row,” a collection of on-campus religious organizations. In just a few years – with the construction of an on-campus football stadium – the […]
McKinley Drive closed down for death investigation, Tampa police say
The intersection between Fowler Avenue and McKinley Drive was closed due to a death investigation late Wednesday afternoon, according to the Tampa Police Department (TPD). A man shot himself after making a bomb threat in the parking lot of the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), located at 11201 McKinley Drive, according to TPD. Police said […]
USF 2024-25 A&S budget to increase student organization funding in Tampa and St. Pete
The Student Government (SG) Senate approved the 2024-25 Student Activities & Services (A&S) budget for all three campuses this Tuesday, seeing an overall increase in allocated money to student organizations. The vote was 26-0, approving the budget. Related: 2023-24 A&S budget down $5 million from last fiscal year Students pay fees in their tuition – […]