The Fort Worth Press - Socialist reign at stake in Portugal election, far right eyes big gains

USD -
AED 3.673005
AFN 67.508002
ALL 90.278095
AMD 386.644841
ANG 1.80291
AOA 907.501981
ARS 974.763399
AUD 1.48882
AWG 1.8025
AZN 1.703423
BAM 1.788618
BBD 2.019845
BDT 119.542753
BGN 1.79066
BHD 0.376974
BIF 2951.138993
BMD 1
BND 1.308539
BOB 6.912539
BRL 5.585903
BSD 1.000366
BTN 83.985478
BWP 13.303033
BYN 3.27377
BYR 19600
BZD 2.016424
CAD 1.374995
CDF 2878.000128
CHF 0.85927
CLF 0.033803
CLP 932.729732
CNY 7.077898
CNH 7.09279
COP 4233.05
CRC 516.593355
CUC 1
CUP 26.5
CVE 100.838607
CZK 23.159015
DJF 178.140318
DKK 6.82363
DOP 60.228624
DZD 133.120214
EGP 48.559898
ERN 15
ETB 121.888854
EUR 0.914785
FJD 2.226698
FKP 0.761559
GBP 0.765535
GEL 2.720272
GGP 0.761559
GHS 15.953069
GIP 0.761559
GMD 68.497847
GNF 8632.073746
GTQ 7.736555
GYD 209.287439
HKD 7.77165
HNL 24.854252
HRK 6.799011
HTG 131.796982
HUF 366.278018
IDR 15701.1
ILS 3.771964
IMP 0.761559
INR 83.975033
IQD 1310.470965
IRR 42087.502819
ISK 135.839883
JEP 0.761559
JMD 158.074753
JOD 0.708698
JPY 148.968979
KES 129.050035
KGS 85.2026
KHR 4067.635413
KMF 449.950381
KPW 899.999433
KRW 1351.539587
KWD 0.30654
KYD 0.833646
KZT 496.177412
LAK 21877.972054
LBP 89582.174995
LKR 292.985825
LRD 193.075509
LSL 17.57476
LTL 2.95274
LVL 0.60489
LYD 4.788426
MAD 9.819841
MDL 17.686167
MGA 4595.25203
MKD 56.363088
MMK 3247.960992
MNT 3397.999955
MOP 8.007627
MRU 39.604576
MUR 46.110149
MVR 15.354993
MWK 1734.490453
MXN 19.46068
MYR 4.291501
MZN 63.715
NAD 17.57484
NGN 1620.290273
NIO 36.817558
NOK 10.78792
NPR 134.378286
NZD 1.64638
OMR 0.384966
PAB 1.000348
PEN 3.726383
PGK 3.932363
PHP 57.411497
PKR 277.854778
PLN 3.93779
PYG 7801.697333
QAR 3.647471
RON 4.551201
RSD 107.050057
RUB 97.449556
RWF 1346.76409
SAR 3.754109
SBD 8.281893
SCR 13.620213
SDG 601.500812
SEK 10.397405
SGD 1.30813
SHP 0.761559
SLE 22.847303
SLL 20969.494858
SOS 571.736884
SRD 31.793997
STD 20697.981008
SVC 8.753704
SYP 2512.529936
SZL 17.568952
THB 33.59042
TJS 10.653852
TMT 3.51
TND 3.083852
TOP 2.342099
TRY 34.2128
TTD 6.79189
TWD 32.256976
TZS 2724.999922
UAH 41.241621
UGX 3676.268861
UYU 41.573691
UZS 12782.690602
VEF 3622552.534434
VES 37.482162
VND 24845
VUV 118.722009
WST 2.797463
XAF 599.863742
XAG 0.032667
XAU 0.000382
XCD 2.70255
XDR 0.744209
XOF 599.880199
XPF 109.062643
YER 250.374992
ZAR 17.59842
ZMK 9001.191204
ZMW 26.559185
ZWL 321.999592
  • RYCEF

    0.0700

    6.97

    +1%

  • RIO

    -0.0100

    66.34

    -0.02%

  • VOD

    0.0250

    9.755

    +0.26%

  • AZN

    -0.2450

    77.26

    -0.32%

  • BP

    0.1350

    32.115

    +0.42%

  • GSK

    -0.0300

    40.21

    -0.07%

  • BTI

    0.0300

    35.51

    +0.08%

  • CMSC

    -0.1200

    24.52

    -0.49%

  • NGG

    0.2900

    65.92

    +0.44%

  • RBGPF

    2.5500

    63.35

    +4.03%

  • SCS

    -0.1600

    12.87

    -1.24%

  • RELX

    -0.1400

    46.57

    -0.3%

  • JRI

    0.0600

    13.22

    +0.45%

  • BCC

    -2.4700

    139.92

    -1.77%

  • CMSD

    -0.1715

    24.68

    -0.69%

  • BCE

    -0.2250

    33.085

    -0.68%

Socialist reign at stake in Portugal election, far right eyes big gains

Socialist reign at stake in Portugal election, far right eyes big gains

Portugal votes Sunday in a tight election, with no party expected to garner a majority in parliament in a fragmented political landscape that could see the far right make huge gains.

Text size:

A late surge by the opposition centre-right PSD party has clawed away the ruling Socialists' once comfortable poll lead, with the two sides in a statistical tie according to final surveys.

With one in 10 voters still undecided according to recent polls, analysts said the outcome of the election in the nation of around 10 million people is wide open.

Ballot stations opened at 8 am (0800 GMT) and close at 8 pm, with official results expected a few hours later.

The prospect of another weak minority government comes as Portugal is trying to boost its tourism-dependent economy which has been badly hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

A stable government is needed for Portugal to make the most of a 16.6-billion-euro ($18.7 billion) package of EU recovery funds it is due to receive by 2026.

"Portugal needs stability after these two difficult years of fighting against the pandemic," Prime Minister Antonio Costa, in office since 2015, told a final rally in second-city Porto on Friday.

During the campaign Costa received messages of support from Spain's Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who called the Portuguese premier a "tireless defender of social justice".

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.

- PSD gains -

If the Socialists again garner the most votes but lack a majority, Costa has said he plans to govern alone by negotiating support from other parties for laws on a case-by-case basis.

Such a government would have "little chance" of lasting until the end of its term in 2026, said Lisbon University politics professor Antonio Costa Pinto.

Under Costa's watch Portugal has rolled back austerity measures, maintained fiscal discipline and slashed unemployment to pre-pandemic levels.

But PSD leader Rui Rio says the economy should expand faster. It proposes corporate tax cuts to spur growth.

Rio has managed to unify the often fractious party since he defeated a leadership challenge last year and his strategy of moving the PSD to the centre appears to be bearing fruit.

Under Rio the PSD defied the odds and booted the Socialists out of office in a regional election in the Azores islands in 2020 and the Lisbon mayor's office last September.

He is open to forming a coalition with the conservative CDS and the upstart libertarian Liberal Initiative party.

But such a coalition would need the support of far-right party Chega, which polls suggest could emerge as the third-biggest party in parliament, mirroring recent gains for such formations across Europe.

- Far-right 'hostage' -

Chega, which translates as "Enough", entered parliament for the first time with a single seat during the last election in 2019.

Costa has warned that a PSD-led government would be a "hostage" to Chega, whose proposals include tougher Covid-19 confinement rules for Roma people and castrating sex offenders.

Rio accuses Costa of fear-mongering.

He has vowed not to include Chega in a government but has indicated he is willing to head a minority government propped up by support in parliament from the far right.

To try to avoid large gatherings on election day because of the pandemic, voters were given the possibility to cast their ballots in advance on January 23.

Costa was among the roughly 285,000 people who voted that day.

And voters who are quarantining because of the virus will be allowed to leave home to cast their ballot, with the government recommending that they vote in the slower final hour.

D.Ford--TFWP