As of: 01/30/2022 9:46 p.m
The Socialist Party of Portugal’s Prime Minister Costa is in the lead after the early parliamentary elections. According to initial forecasts, she can even hope for an absolute majority.
In the early parliamentary elections in Portugal, a victory for Prime Minister António Costa’s Socialists (PS) is on the horizon. This emerges from a forecast by the Catholic University for the public broadcaster RTP. Accordingly, the Socialists got between 37 and 42 percent of the votes, the more right-wing Social Democrats 30 to 35 percent.
The Socialists and the Social Democrats have alternated in power for decades. In the previous election in autumn 2019, the PS won 36.3 percent, the PSD received 27.8 percent. The latest pre-election polls pointed to a neck-and-neck race between the PS and the centre-right opposition Social Democratic Party (PSD).
Absolute majority still possible
The Socialists can even hope for an absolute majority in Parliament. However, it is considered more likely that the 60-year-old Costa will continue to depend on the support of smaller left-wing parties. A grand coalition or far-reaching cooperation with leading candidate Rui Rio’s PSD is considered very unlikely.
Costa lost support in parliament in November, where his party has been pushing through bills since 2015 with the help of the Left Bloc and the Communists. The country’s economy has been hit hard by the corona pandemic.