Lisbon The President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Souza, decided to dissolve parliament and call new elections for March 10, 2024. The measure was taken after the vacuum created by the dismissal from the post of prime minister of António Costa, who was accused of advocating companies in the research of lithic and green hydrogen and the construction of a data center in the port by Sines. The signs of corruption were uncovered through an operation carried out by the State Ministry on Tuesday (July 11). Five people were arrested.
“Called to decide on the scenario created by the dismissal of the Prime Minister, I have decided in favor of dissolving the Assembly of the Republic and scheduling elections on March 10, 2024,” Rebelo de Souza explained in a statement to the nation. According to him, there is no reason to change only the head of government, as the country would bleed dry and he would have to make the same decision later, but against the background of a weakened economy and distrust of society. Until the last moment, the Socialist Party (PS), which has a majority in Congress, tried to maintain control of São Bento Palace, claiming to have an absolute majority of elected parliamentarians. The last elections in Portugal took place, also in advance, in January 2022.
The President claimed that before wielding the gavel to dissolve Parliament, he consulted all the leaders of the parties that had seats in the Assembly of the Republic and that the majority were in favor of bringing forward the elections. In the Council of State, which met before the address to the nation, there was a tie between maintaining the previous state, simply looking for a replacement for Costa, and dissolving the assembly, a situation that had in fact already happened in the past with other heads of state.
The crisis could be worse
In his speech, Rebelo de Souza gave a number of reasons for his decision. The first, he stressed, was the nature of the vote in the last election, which was very individual for the Prime Minister and based on his own leadership, which resulted in an overwhelming victory. Secondly, the weakness of the formation of a government, which would not be legitimized by the popular vote even with a majority in parliament if the head of government were someone else. Thirdly, there is the risk, already observed in the past, that the government’s weakness will simply result in the dissolution being postponed until a worse time, with a more critical situation and a more unpredictable outcome.
“If this context prevailed, the government would be presidential, that is, it would be supported by the President of the Republic, which weakens his role in a sensitive period when he must, above all, be an internal and external reference,” he stressed. The fourth reason was the indispensable economic and social stability guaranteed by the prior vote on the state budget for 2024, even before the dismissal of the incumbent Prime Minister was formalized in early December the vote on the budget is scheduled for 29 from November.
The Portuguese head of state also stressed that the fifth reason for dissolving Parliament and calling new elections was greater clarity and a more forceful course “to overcome an unexpected gap that the passionate Portuguese who found themselves on the eight so much surprised and disturbed. “Years of leadership (of Costa)”. “In this way we give the word back to the people, without dramatization or fear. “That is the strength of democracy, not to be afraid of the people,” he said.
It is now time for Rebelo de Souza to look forward, study the progress and select the people’s representatives and government that will emerge from the elections. “A government that wants to ensure stability and economic, social and cultural progress in freedom, pluralism and democracy,” he emphasized. “A government with a vision for the future, taking what has already been done, completing what needs to be done and innovating what remains to be achieved,” he added.
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