- Title: PORTUGAL: Polls show socialist party lead as election campaign comes to a close
- Date: 26th September 2009
- Summary: LISBON, PORTUGAL (SEPTEMBER 25, 2009) (REUTERS) TOP SHOT OF CROWDS WAVING FLAGS AND CHANTING 'P-S' AS THEY FOLLOW PORTUGUESE PRIME MINISTER AND SOCIALIST PARTY (PS) CANDIDATE JOSE SOCRATES THROUGH STREET PS SUPPORTERS WAVING FLAGS SOCRATES GREETING SUPPORTERS AND RECEIVING A ROSE, THE SYMBOL OF THE PS MAN WAVING FLAGS AND CHANTING ' 1, 2, 3, MAJORITY AGAIN'/FLAGS SUPPORTERS WAVING FLAGS CONFETTI FALLING FROM ABOVE/SUPPORTERS AND MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) PORTUGUESE PRIME MINISTER JOSE SOCRATES, SOCIALIST PARTY CANDIDATE, SAYING: "We did our duty, we expressed our point of view to the country, we presented our programmes, we presented our ideas, and with this we served Portugal and the Portuguese people." DRUMMERS LEADING SUPPORTERS DOWN STREET SUPPORTER ON STREET SOCRATES WAVING TO SUPPORTERS PANORAMIC VIEW OF SOCRATES SUPPORTERS WAVING FLAGS BEFORE HIS CLOSING CAMPAIGN SPEECH SUPPORTERS WAVING FLAGS (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) PORTUGUESE PRIME MINISTER JOSE SOCRATES, SOCIALIST PARTY CANDIDATE, SAYING: "The responsibility at this moment is to confront the world economic crisis, confront it with determination. This is not the time to sit back and cross your arms waiting for the crisis to pass, this is a time when many Portuguese have much expectation and hope for the state. The real duty of the state is to increase public investment to give people more work and more dynamism to our economy." VARIOUS OF SUPPORTERS SUPPORTERS OF OPPOSITION SOCIAL DEMOCRAT PARTY (PSD) CANDIDATE MANUELA FERREIRA LEITE WEARING ORANGE SHIRTS AND PLAYING DRUMS SUPPORTERS WAVING FLAGS VARIOUS FERREIRA LEITE GREETING SUPPORTERS FERREIRA LEITE WALKING AMONGST CROWDS SUPPORTERS WAVING FLAGS VARIOUS FERREIRA LEITE GREETING SUPPORTERS PSD SUPPORTERS VARIOUS OF SUPPORTERS AT PSD CLOSING CAMPAIGN DINNER (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) PORTUGUESE OPPOSITION SOCIAL DEMOCRAT CANDIDATE MANUELA FERREIRA LEITE SAYING: "The PSD believes the Portuguese are tired of lies and threats from politicians that tell people what they need to say to stay in power." SUPPORTERS FERREIRA LEITE AT PODIUM
- Embargoed: 11th October 2009 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Portugal
- Country: Portugal
- Topics: Domestic Politics
- Reuters ID: LVACU1FEBE6J4338340EFYDPV8I
- Story Text: Polls show Portugal's Socialist Party ahead as the general election campaign closes but it is unlikely it will win an absolute majority on Sunday.
Campaigning ahead of Portugal's general election came to a close on Friday (September 25) with polls showing Socialist Prime Minister Jose Socrates has consolidated his lead but is unlikely to win an absolute majority on Sunday (September 27).
The Catholic University of Lisbon's poll put Socrates' Socialist Party (PS) support at 38 percent, ahead of centre-right Social Democrat (PSD) Manuela Ferreira Leite, who scored 30 percent.
As the prime minister walked through the streets of Lisbon he said he was satisfied with the PS's performance.
"We did our duty, we expressed our point of view to the country, we presented our programmes, we presented our ideas, and with this we served Portugal and the Portuguese people," Socrates said surrounded by supporters.
In the 2005 election Socrates won 45 percent of the vote.
The findings of the poll were similar to three others released in recent days.
Such an outcome would leave Socrates short of the absolute majority he has had in parliament in his first term. Analysts have said he is likely to prefer to lead with a minority government and seek support from other parties on a case-by-case basis rather than enter into a formal coalition.
Socrates supporters credit his determination for fixing the Portuguese economy before the financial crisis and as he closed his campaign he emphasized the role the state will play in confronting the economic downturn.
"This is not the time to sit back and cross your arms waiting for the crisis to pass, this is a time when many Portuguese have much expectation and hope for the state. The real duty of the state is to increase public investment to give people more work and more dynamism to our economy," he said.
Manuela Ferreira Leite, who seeks to oust the socialists in Portugal's election, is banking on her no nonsense reputation and background in economics to convince voters she is the best bet for prime minister in a recession.
But the 68-year-old conservative, dubbed the "Iron Lady" for her austerity drive as finance minister in 2002-2004, is seen as lacking charisma and media-savviness, needed to win over voters for her centre-right PSD party in Sunday's parliamentary poll.
By contrast, her main adversary, Socialist Prime Minister Jose Socrates, 52, is eloquent and more versed in the ways of politics.
Campaigning under the slogan "The Politics of Truth", Ferreira Leite says that Socrates is hiding from the Portuguese the real dimension of public debt and pledges to suspend the Socialists' large infrastructure projects, which would boost debt further.
"The PSD believes the Portuguese are tired of lies and threats from politicians that tell people what they need to say to stay in power," Ferreira Leite said making a dig at her rival Socrates as she closed her campaign on Friday night.
Many economists see such a suspension as a healthy approach, but point at a lack of any other clear strategy in PSD's manifesto. They expect unpopular fiscal measures such as the ones that marked her stint as finance minister in 2002-2004.
Her critics say those measures were excessive, but most experts agree they laid some of the groundwork for the Socialist government to bring the budget deficit down below the 3 percent EU limit in 2007 and 2008. Some of the fiscal reform measures started by Ferreira Leite continued under Socrates.
The poll, published by daily Jornal de Noticias on Friday, gave the Left Bloc 11 percent. The Bloc is a potential ally of the Socialists but analysts have said Socrates' reformist economic policies would prevent the two from governing together.
Friday is the last day that polls can be published ahead of the election under Portuguese voting rules.
The pollsters interviewed 4,367 voters on Sept. 17-22 and gave a margin of error was 1.5 percentage points. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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