The Portuguese Parliament has confirmed the new government socialist who will rule in a minority. I didn’t even have to vote on it because the centre-right decided not to raise battle (with a motion of censure) to the Government which emerged from the polls last October 6.
four years Ago, the prime minister, António Costa, announced on taking office that it was time to “turn the page on austerity”, and this Wednesday renewed the mandate with the promise of bringing the Portuguese to “a [new] page of prosperity”. The Government of Costa missing eight votes for an absolute majority in parliament, but after the first plenary session of the legislature it seems that it will not be difficult to count with them, mainly from the left (Bloco de Esquerda and the Communist Party), although the Executive socialist nor denies support of the right (mainly of the Social Democratic Party), as already happened in the last legislature.
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Coast to govern alone, despite being in the minority to Reduce the debt and improve the services públcias, tasks of the new Government
Costa tabled in Parliament the Government’s program for the next four years with the Executive, “the largest and most expensive in the history of the country”, criticized the leader of the opposition, Rui Rio (PSD). There are 20 ministers and 50 secretaries of State. Costa replied: “instead of worrying about the increase of my Government, be very wary of the reduction of its parliamentary group” (has gone down from 89 to 79 members).
unlike 2015, there is a written agreement with the Bloco and the PC, but Costa has not had any difficulties to pass the parliamentary process of the presentation of your program. Another issue will be the negotiation of budgets. As in the previous legislature, the formations of the left are critical of the Government, but will also tend the hand. Also Costa facilitates their support by promising an increase in the minimum wage from the current € 600 to the 750 at the end of the legislature (the PC proposes to 850), and, above all, a general increase in wage (the PC you want to 90 euros a month more). In another nod to his left, has withdrawn the proposal of electoral reform, which was contained in the electoral program of the Socialist Party, and that neither Bloco or PC wanted.
In the Parliament more fragmented democracy (ten games), Costa promises of tax cuts to the middle class, and to upgrade the pension with inflation (70% of pensioners Portuguese cobra 421 euros), to defrost the careers of the officials, more hospitals and more trains. And measures that will create controversy to an end and the other of the parliamentary spectrum, as the increase of the age of the public in the bullfighting (from 12 to 16 years), the regionalisation of the country, the reform of the law of nationalization or an act of euthanasia.
Despite the fact that in election campaign Rui Rio said that he did not sit in Parliament, the leader of the PSD withdrew, assumed the leadership of the opposition and was the most critical with the Government programme. Also Costa was hard with him, to accuse him of seem a commentator on television and a leading temporary. In January, the PSD held internal elections, and already there are several candidates to contest for the post of Riu River.
But the concern of Coast is to please the parties to its left, that will depend on the approval of the budgets before the end of the year. Jerónimo de Sousa, leader of the PCS, blamed Costa for the lack of concrete commitments. “Your program does not correspond to the country’s needs”, added João Oliveira, a spokesperson for the group.
Coast promises to lower taxes for the middle class, more hospitals, more trains and the regionalisation of the country
“You tend the hand with the agreements”, he said Catarina Martins, leader of the Bloco, “but you are missing measures against precarious work and to remove the hand of the troika [guardianship of the European Commission, the IMF and the ECB during the crisis] in the labor law”.
The new parties to put the note in a novel of the first session of the legislature. Figueiredo, of Liberal enterprise, reproached the PSD and CDS (Popular Party) who does not submit a motion of no confidence in the incoming Government; André Ventura, the populist does not arrive, you already put us on guard against a change in the nationality law -“at the end is going to be Portuguese all take a train ticket”- and Joacine Moreira, of Livre, asked for more measures to combat inequality and racism.
The spokesman of the socialist group, Beatriz Meireles, guaranteed agreements with other left groups, but did not despise joint positions with the right, especially in matters concerning the European Union.
Coast premieres legislature with the same comfort with which it ended, in a state of grace and without which the opposition had dared to present a vote of censure; but their allies, PC and Bloco, do not believe that they meet all four years. At this time, their minister star, the president of the Eurogroup Mario Rye, the protagonist, in the election campaign, nor intervened in the parliamentary debate, or has been rewarded in the new Government, signs of a future departure of the Executive.
