Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa announced on Friday that the new Socialist-majority government is set to form its government on March 30. The ministers and secretaries of state of the new Portuguese government will be set to take over if all the necessary proceedings run smoothly. The Socialist Antonio Costa will deliver the names of the people that will make up the government on the 23rd of March.
The President of Portugal said that this calendar is based upon the fact that the 23rd of March is when the repeated election results in the European circle will be known. Portuguese voters in Europe went to cast their votes for a second time on March 12 and 13 as over 150,000 of the initial votes were made invalid in the General Election. If these results do not change the outcome of the election, the schedule remains in place and the new government is likely to be formed on March 30.
The Portuguese General Election occurred on January 30 to elect 230 members to the Assembly of the Republic. The Socialist Party won a majority with 117 seats, 9 up from the last election. Antonio Costa, the leader of the Socialist Party will thus remain as Prime Minister if the second-round of European circle votes allow it.
The new government will be a Socialist majority so the Socialist Party will not need to form a coalition with other parties. Without a majority, it was impossible for the party to pass their proposed state budget that was rejected before the election. Now, with a majority, the same state budget is very likely to pass in the Spring or Summer. Take a look at an overview of the proposed state budget here.
However, Prime Minister Antonio Costa has stated that despite this victory, “An absolute majority doesn’t mean absolute power. It doesn’t mean to govern alone. It’s an increased responsibility and it means to govern with and for all Portuguese”.
Take a look at our article on the Portuguese Political System to find out about the democratic process in Portugal.
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