Portugal's political future is in the hands of its president. Aníbal Cavaco Silva on Monday continued his round of contacts, this time with the President of the Assembly of the Republic, the socialist Jaime Gama, after Friday saw all the parties represented in parliament, after the crisis opened by the resignation Luso Prime Minister Jose Socrates.
Before calling early elections, which will most likely be held the last Sunday of May or first of June, Cavaco Silva will formally accept the resignation of Socrates and dissolve Parliament. Although there is no official announcement of the elections, the two major parties have started exchanging accusations in a tone of pre season.
Yesterday, the Prime Minister has resigned after being re-elected general secretary of the Socialist Party with over 93% of the vote, launched harsh criticism of the leader of the main opposition party, the Social Democrat Pedro Passos Coelho, admitted the possibility of governing with International Monetary Fund.
"There are European countries expected to fight to Portugal that will not happen because their conditions of funding depends on it," said Socrates, insisting that the bailout Portuguese "would be bad for the country to Europe for the single currency and for European project. " Occurred hours after the conservative response, through statements by António Nogueira Leite, a member of the National Council of PSD.
Besides Socrates qualify as "the worst prime minister in tax matters" in the history of Portugal, the direct responsibility of pushing the country into the IMF, after "having failed all his promises." José Socrates's speech, full of attacks on the Social Democrats, was branded by his political rivals as "unnecessary verbal pugilism", at a time when the country needs political stability to deal with the difficult containment measures which meet the demanding commitment Luso reduce the public deficit to 4.6% this year to 3% in 2012 and 2% in 2013.
The Socialist prime minister still has challenged the opposition to say "openly and without thinking about the electoral consequences" measures proposed to be implemented to achieve that goal. Socrates criticized just 24 hours after his resignation, Pedro Passos Coelho and defend the tax increases, "take a year after opposing it." "We need the confidence of the European Commission, European Central Bank and our partners in Europe, but the PSD, thinking only of elections has endangered the life of the Portuguese," criticized the socialist, adding that what "Passos Coelho want is to hide its neoliberal policies under an agreement with the IMF ", something against which Socrates says that" fight "with all his might.
Amid this political tension, it is the president Luso find a solution as soon as possible. Is likely to announce his decision before the country to meet with the Council of State, as is usual in such cases. The last time a president was dissolved parliament in late 2004 when the Socialist Jorge Sampaio ousted conservative Pedro Santana Lopes, who just replaced Jose Manuel Durao Barroso for four months in office as prime minister.
In the elections that followed, José Socrates won the first absolute majority in the history of the Socialist Party. Now, with renewed votes of the militants of his party, the Socialist aims to return to winning elections to rule for a third term. According to the first poll released following the resignation of Socrates, if election held today, would beat the Social Democratic Party, but without an absolute majority with 42.2% of the vote compared to 32.8% of the Socialist Party.
8.7% of votes, the poll for television Intercampus lusa TVI, would get the ultra-conservative Christian Democrats (CDS / PP) would be sufficient to guarantee a right wing coalition that would leave out the Socialists of Socrates. But the Portuguese President will not allow any of the two major parties in the minority rule, so it is likely that the next election comes a coalition of right or more long including the Socialists.
What seems feasible is that Jose Socrates and Pedro Passos Coelho can live peacefully in this hypothetical government. 
Before calling early elections, which will most likely be held the last Sunday of May or first of June, Cavaco Silva will formally accept the resignation of Socrates and dissolve Parliament. Although there is no official announcement of the elections, the two major parties have started exchanging accusations in a tone of pre season.
Yesterday, the Prime Minister has resigned after being re-elected general secretary of the Socialist Party with over 93% of the vote, launched harsh criticism of the leader of the main opposition party, the Social Democrat Pedro Passos Coelho, admitted the possibility of governing with International Monetary Fund.
"There are European countries expected to fight to Portugal that will not happen because their conditions of funding depends on it," said Socrates, insisting that the bailout Portuguese "would be bad for the country to Europe for the single currency and for European project. " Occurred hours after the conservative response, through statements by António Nogueira Leite, a member of the National Council of PSD.
Besides Socrates qualify as "the worst prime minister in tax matters" in the history of Portugal, the direct responsibility of pushing the country into the IMF, after "having failed all his promises." José Socrates's speech, full of attacks on the Social Democrats, was branded by his political rivals as "unnecessary verbal pugilism", at a time when the country needs political stability to deal with the difficult containment measures which meet the demanding commitment Luso reduce the public deficit to 4.6% this year to 3% in 2012 and 2% in 2013.
The Socialist prime minister still has challenged the opposition to say "openly and without thinking about the electoral consequences" measures proposed to be implemented to achieve that goal. Socrates criticized just 24 hours after his resignation, Pedro Passos Coelho and defend the tax increases, "take a year after opposing it." "We need the confidence of the European Commission, European Central Bank and our partners in Europe, but the PSD, thinking only of elections has endangered the life of the Portuguese," criticized the socialist, adding that what "Passos Coelho want is to hide its neoliberal policies under an agreement with the IMF ", something against which Socrates says that" fight "with all his might.
Amid this political tension, it is the president Luso find a solution as soon as possible. Is likely to announce his decision before the country to meet with the Council of State, as is usual in such cases. The last time a president was dissolved parliament in late 2004 when the Socialist Jorge Sampaio ousted conservative Pedro Santana Lopes, who just replaced Jose Manuel Durao Barroso for four months in office as prime minister.
In the elections that followed, José Socrates won the first absolute majority in the history of the Socialist Party. Now, with renewed votes of the militants of his party, the Socialist aims to return to winning elections to rule for a third term. According to the first poll released following the resignation of Socrates, if election held today, would beat the Social Democratic Party, but without an absolute majority with 42.2% of the vote compared to 32.8% of the Socialist Party.
8.7% of votes, the poll for television Intercampus lusa TVI, would get the ultra-conservative Christian Democrats (CDS / PP) would be sufficient to guarantee a right wing coalition that would leave out the Socialists of Socrates. But the Portuguese President will not allow any of the two major parties in the minority rule, so it is likely that the next election comes a coalition of right or more long including the Socialists.
What seems feasible is that Jose Socrates and Pedro Passos Coelho can live peacefully in this hypothetical government.
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