Draft budget fails: new elections may be held in Portugal

Portugal’s parliament has rejected the draft budget for 2022. President de Sousa had announced new elections for the matter. The country has faced months of political crisis amid its recovery from the pandemic.

Portugal’s Prime Minister Antonio Costa’s socialist minority government is at risk of serious trouble over a dispute over the 2022 draft budget.

Parliament rejected the presented budget by 108 votes to 117 votes. There were five abstinences. The communists and leftist factions, which had so far supported the government, this time abandoned Prime Minister Costa’s Socialists after weeks of negotiations.

demand for more social spending

From their point of view, very little money is earmarked for social spending: they demand, for example, a higher minimum wage, better wages for government employees and more money for the health system. The socialist government is already planning to build four new hospitals – as a result of the health system overloading at the peak of the pandemic.

The situation could lead to fresh elections and put the brakes on the country’s plans to recover from the pandemic. Because President Rebelo de Sousa said before the vote: if the budget does not happen, he will dissolve the parliament, resulting in a new election. Observers expect the date to be fixed in the next few days.

political turmoil for months

Due to constitutional requirements that must be met before elections can take place, and with the Christmas holidays in mind, early elections are not likely to be held until January. By the time the budget for 2022 is ready, it should be April. The program would mean Portugal would remain in political limbo for months, especially as the government sought to stimulate the economy with 45 billion euros in aid from the European Union after the coronavirus pandemic.

Prime Minister Costa indicated in today’s debate that he would run again in a new election. He will not run when it is difficult. Socialist elections remain high among the Portuguese population.

With information from Oliver Neuroth, ARD Studio Madrid