In Portugal, left-wing opposition topples government in no-confidence vote

[MowCowWhoHow III]

Source: Deutsche Welle

The left-wing alliance has rejected the program proposed by Portugal Prime Minister Coelho, forcing the government to resign after only 11 days in power. The opposition plans to reverse pay and pensions cuts.

Portugal's Socialist Party forged an unprecedented pact with the Communist Party and the radical Left Bloc to take down the center-right government of Minister Pedro Passos Coelho in a parliamentary vote on Tuesday. The no-confidence motion drafted by the Socialists garnered 123 of 230 votes.

Prime Minister Coelho won the most votes during the parliamentary elections in October, but lost the absolute majority his coalition had held since 2011. Still, following the country's political conventions, he was sworn back into office last week by the president.

The Tuesday vote makes his new administration the most-short lived in Portugal's history.

Read more: http://www.dw.com/en/in-portugal-left-wing-opposition-topples-government-in-no-confidence-vote/a-18841747

[Jack Rabbit]

1. Go! Go! Go!

<----- leftward, march.

[FlatBaroque]

3. The only thing that stands in the way of the same result here

is that the bastards still have the control of counting the votes.

[geek tragedy]

2. the president abused his office by re-appointing Coelho.

If the people's representatives want to leave the EU, not up to the President to stand in their way.

[muriel_volestrangler]

4. It wasn't about leaving the EU, though - just about how a government should work with the EU

Here's an op-ed from a Portuguese writer, which is so far accurate in its predictions:

Sorry, British Eurosceptics, but there was no coup in Portugal

Coups, at least real ones, are unpredictable. Yet what is going to happen in Portugal is pretty clear. Next Friday, Passos Coelho and his rightwing coalition government will be sworn in by the president. He then has 10 days to present his programme for the next four years, while the leftwing parties are likely to table a vote of no confidence that will be approved by, at least, 122 of the 230 members of parliament.
...
What has indeed been subject to heavy criticism in Portugal was the speech of Cavaco Silva – elected with the support of the rightwing PSD and CDS – in which he criticised the Left Bloc and the Communists for their opposition to Portugal’s international compromises. This was despite the fact that the Socialists have said they would guarantee Portugal’s continued membership of the EU – including the economic union – and Nato.

Daniel Hannan, a Conservative member of the European parliament, went on to say that this supposed coup demonstrated that “you can have democracy, or you can have a political union in the EU. You can’t have both.” What Hannan and other Eurosceptics didn’t realise was that, what’s happening in Portugal has nothing to do with the structure of the EU, only with the economic measures that the rightwing government imposed on the Portuguese people, and which his own party has imposed in Britain.

While the Left Block and the Communists are indeed Eurosceptic, they don’t call for Portugal to leave the European Union or the eurozone. The biggest party in the future coalition of the left is the Socialists, who brought Portugal into the European Union and the euro, and who have called for movement towards European political union.

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/28/british-eurosceptics-austerity-coup-portugal-elections-eu-brexit

[geek tragedy]

5. I confess to lacking knowledge of the specifics, but these austerity policies are coming from the

Troika, no?

If that's the case, how does Costa avoid falling into the trap that snared Tsipras?

[muriel_volestrangler]

6. They're not in such a tight position as Greece

I'm not clear on specifics either, but you can compare the economies here - Greece has far higher unemployment, Portugal's economy had already returned to growth by 2013, and Portugal's debt didn't get as high.

http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/eu/countries/portugal_en.htm

http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/eu/countries/greece_en.htm

[geek tragedy]

7. true that, Greece was a special case.

But the negotiating dynamic seems to be the same--populist leader makes a lot of promises that require Troika concessions, has zero leverage with Troika.

[Jack Rabbit]

8. I agree, GT

It's time to tell Herr Schäubel fick dich and bring the EU down, if it continues to insist on being the enforcement tool of crooked bankers.

Imposing austerity on Greece (or Portugal) should be a crime against humanity. Austerity isn't going to help the Greeks get back on their and only make them suffer unnecessarily for decades.

The Greeks were right to resist the EU, and will be right to continue to resistance. The same is true for the Portuguese, the Spaniards and the Italians.

[muriel_volestrangler]

9. Portugal is no longer under the troika regime, though

'Mission accomplished' as Portugal passes last bailout review

Portugal's economy has passed a final review by its EU and IMF lenders, paving the way for a smooth exit from its 78 billion euro bailout program this month, the country's deputy prime minister and creditors said on Friday.

Portugal has passed all reviews of its economy under the bailout, which it signed up to in mid-2011 as the euro zone debt crisis engulfed the country, triggering its worst downturn since the 1970s.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/02/us-portugal-review-idUSBREA410GY20140502

I think the question was whether Portugal should have been doing 'voluntary' austerity, like the Tories in the UK want.

[geek tragedy]

10. thanks. I learned something from this. Cheers nt

[Judi Lynn]

11. Good news! Thank you. n/t