Political earthquake in Portugal in the shadow of financial corruption of high-ranking officials

According to the report of the international group Tasnim news agency, newspaper ” Tages Anseiger of Switzerland wrote in an article: the career of Antonio Costa, the resigned Prime Minister of Portugal, has suddenly ended. A new political era is now beginning in Lisbon.

This report continues: A day after the surprise resignation of Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa, the debate over The political future of this country has begun. It is now up to President Marcelo Rebelo de Souza to decide whether to hold new elections or allow the current parliament to vote for Costa’s successor.

On Wednesday, Marcelo Rebelo D’Souza met with the leaders of the eight parties that are represented in the parliament to discuss this matter. On Thursday, he will also discuss the issue of new elections with the State Council. The State Council is an advisory body for the president that does not exist in other countries. In this council, the president should consult with his members on important and non-partisan issues.

Marques Mendez, a member of the government council, suggested in the media. is that the president can call the election, but at the same time give the Costa PS socialist party a deadline to organize itself before the election date. He mentioned the possible date of the elections at the end of February or March.

He said in the “Expresso” newspaper: What Luis Montenegro, the leader of the largest opposition party, the leader of the PSD, The argument for it is obvious: the state has “collapsed from within”. The only solution now is to go to the polls. “We are ready,” he assured.

“Costa, who has been able to rely on an absolute majority in parliament since 2022, will continue in his position temporarily. Carlos PS president César said his party is ready for both scenarios.

Most parties in Portugal are now worried that new elections could strengthen the far-right.

In the Socialist faction, Pedro Nunes Santos is seen as a possible successor to Costa. He was Minister of Infrastructure and Housing until January this year and represents a more leftist policy. It is also possible for a moderate candidate to continue Costa’s policies, which are considered less socialist.

The representatives of most parties agree on this issue. They believe that the new elections can lead to the strengthening of the far-right Chega party. This party has been able to win votes from the right wing with its populist positions in recent years. Currently, Chega is the third largest party with 11 seats out of 230 seats in the parliament.

Meanwhile, the first details of the claims by judicial officials that led to the government’s surprise fall are emerging on Tuesday afternoon. Several media outlets suspect that Costas’ chief of staff, Vitor Scaria, who was arrested as a flight risk, may have played a key role in the illegal awarding of large industrial contracts. Diego Lacerda Machado, one of Costa’s friends and confidants, may have used bribes to convince the chief of staff to promote projects. The researchers of this case are building a hydrogen production plant, which, of course, failed before implementation. Also here is the issue of licensing for the exploration of lithium reserves in Portugal. In early 2020, an investigative journalist discovered, among other things, that a lithium concession had been granted to a company that had been founded only three days earlier. Lithium mining is a very critical issue by environmentalists.

Vitor Scaria, Costa’s chief of staff, was previously involved in an incident in 2016 involving travel and tickets for It was the 2016 European Football Championship. At that time, he was saved from death by a fine.

It is still unclear whether Costa was complicit in these crimes or even played an active role in this conspiracy. Several politicians want to clarify these accusations from the prosecutor’s office. However, these relationships are likely to be the end of Costa’s political career, including on the international stage. “Antonio Costa” was once seen in Brussels as a promising successor to the Belgian “Charles Michel” in the office of the President of the Council of the European Union.

Antonio Costa, the successful Prime Minister of Portugal On Tuesday, in a sudden move, he recently announced that he would resign from his position and submitted his resignation to the president of this country. As for his honesty, he offered his resignation to his country’s president, Marcelo Rebelo de Souza. Portugal’s socialist minister had been searched in Lisbon and announced that Costa was also under investigation. Vitor Scaria, the head of his office, was also arrested. On Tuesday, the prosecutor’s office also named João Galamba, the country’s infrastructure minister, as an official suspect. And it is hydrogen. After these accusations were revealed, the opposition demanded Costa’s resignation. rid the country of large debts and widespread economic crisis and create economic growth and prosperity in this country.

After the socialists won a decisive victory in last year’s elections. They found that it seemed that Costa would remain in power for several more years, but in his words on Tuesday, which he spoke after meeting with the president of Portugal, he emphasized that a phase of his life was over.