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Posted on 12/16/2001 9:34:32 PM PST by jae471
Sunday December 16 4:49 PM ET Opposition Dems Vote Strong in Race
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By BARRY HATTON, Associated Press writer
LISBON, Portugal (AP) - Portugal's main opposition party took advantage of the governing Socialist Party's waning popularity in local elections Sunday, winning three major cities and running a close race in the traditionally Socialist capital, Lisbon, according to exit polls.
The center-right Social Democratic Party, which has not won a national ballot for 10 years, won the cities of Faro, Coimbra and Setubal, and was running neck-in-neck with the Socialists in Lisbon and Oporto, according to polls by SIC television. The survey's margin of error was not given.
But the center-left Socialists, midway through their second consecutive term heading the national government, appeared to have avoided the heavy defeat that many had expected, showing well in smaller districts.
The Social Democratic Party fell short of the emphatic victory it wanted to press for an early general election, currently scheduled for 2003.
The conservative Popular Party, the Communist Party and a raft of smaller parties garnered the remaining votes Sunday. Official results were expected late Sunday or early Monday.
The Socialists hold the presidency and most of Portugal's seats in the European Parliament.
Voters had been expected to punish them for their perceived economic mismanagement and clumsy handling of recent high-profile issues.
The government twice had to amend this year's state budget after embarrassing economic miscalculations.
There are few differences between the two parties. They both support free-market policies, further European Union (news - web sites) integration and the war on international terrorism.
The Socialist government has taken the blame for inflation, which has risen to 4.3 percent from 2.9 percent last year, obliging the government get tough on demands for public-sector pay raises.
Portugal's track record in the EU has also hurt the Socialists.
The government promised to make up the gap in living standards between Portugal and its wealthier EU partners within a generation. Yet productivity is just 55 percent of the EU average, still the lowest in the 15-nation bloc, according to EU statistics.
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By BARRY HATTON, Associated Press Writer
LISBON, Portugal (AP) - Prime Minister Antonio Guterres said he would offer to resign Sunday after his Socialist Party suffered heavy losses in nationwide local elections.
President Jorge Sampaio was expected to accept his resignation. The presidency is largely ceremonial in Portugal.
Partial results showed Guterres' Socialists winning just 98 of 308 councils Sunday, compared to the 141 won by the main opposition Social Democrats, according to the National Electoral Commission.
The Social Democrats' wins included Portugal's two main cities, Lisbon and Oporto, as well as several other key cities, the electoral commission said.
They also were expected to win most of the remaining councils where votes weren't completely counted, with the conservative Popular Party, the Communist Party and other smaller parties garnering a few votes.
``This defeat is my defeat,'' Guterres told a news conference. Sunday's ballot had been seen as a test of his popularity as prime minister.
Guterres is widely credited with returning the Socialists to power in 1995 after 10 years in the opposition. But the opposition had profited from waning support for the governing party midway through its second consecutive term in power.
``The country has voted for change,'' Social Democrat leader Jose Durao Barroso said.
If Guterres' resignation offer is accepted, it is not clear whether the center-left Socialists will elect a new leader as prime minister or whether the president will call an early general election. The election is now scheduled for 2003.
The two parties have few differences. They both support free-market policies, further European Union (news - web sites) integration and the war on international terrorism.
However, voters had been expected to punish the ruling Socialists for their perceived economic mismanagement and clumsy handling of recent high-profile issues.
The government twice had to amend this year's state budget after embarrassing economic miscalculations. It recently revoked a tough new law on drunk driving, retreating amid broad protests and losing credibility.
The Socialist government has taken the blame for inflation, which has risen to 4.3 percent from 2.9 percent last year, obliging the government get tough on demands for public-sector pay raises.
Portugal's track record in the European Union also hurt the Socialists.
The government had promised to make up the gap in living standards between Portugal and its wealthier EU partners within a generation. Yet productivity is just 55 percent of the EU average, still the lowest in the 15-nation bloc, according to EU statistics.
The Socialists also faced allegations of patronage and corruption.
"This defeat is my defeat," he told a news conference.
 Our country voted for change and voted on the future  |
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Opposition leader Jose Manuel Durao Barroso
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However, it is not clear if the centre-left Socialist Party - which has the same number of seats in parliament as the opposition - will elect a new leader to become prime minister or if the president will call a general election.
A BBC correspondent in Lisbon says that for now the big winner is the opposition Social Democratic Party, which did better in the polls than most of its members could have hoped.
In a general election two years ago it failed to stop the Socialists from winning a second term.
'Signal for change'
Since then, the Social Democrats have shown a marked lack of unity.
But now, buoyed by Sunday's results, their leader, Jose Manuel Durao Barroso, will be in strong position to see off internal opposition and demand parliamentary elections.
Mr Barroso said the results showed there was no longer any confidence in the Socialist Party.
 The Socialist Party was defeated in Lisbon
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"I asked the country to send a signal for change and this signal was sent."
The prime minister's resignation announcement came as the Socialist Party lost control of the country's two biggest cities - Lisbon and Oporto - to the Social Democrats.
Socialists also suffered defeats in other strongholds as voters made their dissatisfaction with the government clear.
Early results showed Socialists winning just 98 of 308 councils, compared to 141 won by the Social Democrats, according to the National Electoral Commission.
Embarrassing U-turn
Voters had been expected to punish the Socialists for economic troubles and clumsy handling of recent high-profile issues.
The government has had to amend this year's state budget twice after embarrassing economic miscalculations.
It recently revoked a tough new law on drink-driving, retreating amid broad protests and losing credibility.
The BBC correspondent says the man best placed to succeed Mr Guterres as Socialist Party leader is Jorge Coelho, a former infrastructure minister who is number two in the party.
IIRC, the major Mexican political parties also have offices in California.
Why does a national political party, with no formal organizational ties to political parties in other countries, need to operate outside its country's borders?
Just because a Portugese party calls themselves "Democrats" doesn't mean they share the same philosphy as the American Democratic Party.
You'd be hard-pressed to find other countries that have "Republic" in the names of major political parties. For example, P.M. Aznar of Spain is in the Popular Party (A communist-sounding name) yet is conservative, while the Italian Republican Party is left of center.
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