PORTUGAL: Prime Minister elect Pedro Passos Coelho promises to rescue his country from economy chaos after winning snap election
Record ID:
791465
PORTUGAL: Prime Minister elect Pedro Passos Coelho promises to rescue his country from economy chaos after winning snap election
- Title: PORTUGAL: Prime Minister elect Pedro Passos Coelho promises to rescue his country from economy chaos after winning snap election
- Date: 6th June 2011
- Summary: LISBON, PORTUGAL (JUNE 5, 2011) (REUTERS) ( ** BEWARE FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY **) PORTUGUESE PRIME MINISTER-ELECT, PEDRO PASSOS COELHO, ENTERING NEWS BRIEFING WIDE OF PASSOS COELHO ON STAGE (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) PORTUGUESE PRIME MINISTER-ELECT, PEDRO PASSOS COELHO, SAYING "I have devoted all my strength to, as fast as possible, guarantee the nation that the Portuguese should get a majority government, lead by the PSD, that gives stability to Portugal for the next four years which will offer all Portuguese tireless work in doing everything - everything - in our power to overcome the difficulties in which we live." WIDE OF PASSOS COELHO ON STAGE (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) PORTUGUESE PRIME MINISTER-ELECT, PEDRO PASSOS COELHO, SAYING "I hope that the new step we are beginning now could be the first step to a new hope for Portugal, to have a new credibility outside Portugal, and to restore confidence in the markets in Portugal." CUTAWAY OF ADDRESS (SOUNDBITE) (English) PORTUGUESE PRIME MINISTER-ELECT, PEDRO PASSOS COELHO, SAYING "I count on everyone to turn this difficult situation into a great opportunity, that we are on time to grab and transform the difficulties and terrible times which we leave behind us, substituting them with hope, that happier times will come, that we will celebrate this day jointly, all together." PASSOS COELHO GREETING SUPPORTERS FROM STAGE AFTER ADDRESS VARIOUS OF STREET CELEBRATIONS BY PSD SUPPORTERS (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY SUPPORTER, SAYING: "It is natural that at this juncture and the sacrifices that will be asked of all Portuguese that some contestation will appear. But I also think that Portuguese people are intelligent enough to know that this change was necessary and that the previous government was exhausted and would not be able to do it." MORE OF CELEBRATIONS IN THE STREETS/ PEOPLE CHANTING
- Embargoed: 21st June 2011 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Portugal, Portugal
- Country: Portugal
- Topics: Politics
- Reuters ID: LVADI1ANWSUIDDXXZX39K0GB9AH6
- Story Text: Portugal's prime minister-elect Pedro Passos Coelho promised on Sunday (June 05) to form a majority coalition government and to meet all terms of the country's 78-billion-euro bailout.
"I will direct all my efforts as rapidly as possible to guarantee the country and the Portuguese will have a majority government led by the PSD and will give stability for the next four years," Passos Coelho told his party after the election.
Passos Coelho is the leader of Portugal's centre-right Social Democrats (PSD) which scored a convincing win over the Socialists in an election on Sunday, punishing the outgoing government for a 78 billion euro bailout that will bring deep austerity.
After his speech in front of hundreds of supporters gathered in a hotel in central Lisbon, Passos Coelho spoke to a cheering crowd who waited outside to congratulate him.
"It is natural that at this juncture and the sacrifices that will be asked of all Portuguese that some contestation will appear. But I also think that Portuguese people are intelligent enough to know that this change was necessary and that the previous government was exhausted and would not be able to do it," PSD supporter Rodolfo said.
Meanwhile, caretaker Prime Minister Jose Socrates resigned as head of the Socialist Party. He said he had asked the party chairman to start the process to elect a new leader in the next few days.
The result should end months of political uncertainty that began with the collapse of the Socialist government in March and led Lisbon to become the third country in the euro zone to seek a bailout after Greece and Ireland.
Exit polls and partial results showed the PSD with around 39 percent of the vote, the Socialists with 28 percent and the CDS with 12 percent.
The election result showed that many Portuguese blamed the Socialists, in power for six years, for the country's economic crisis.
Socrates, who resigned as prime minister in March after his government failed to pass the austerity measures but stayed on in a caretaker capacity, said he was responsible for the defeat and quit as Socialist party head.
A centre-right government will be welcomed by investors, who have lost faith in Portugal's assets in the past few months, dumping its bonds and pushing borrowing rates to euro-era highs.
Socrates' minority government collapsed halfway through its term, weighed down by its inability to pass legislation in parliament as the sovereign debt crisis worsened.
A centre-right coalition government should be able quickly to enact reforms and austerity measures included in the bailout, such as sweeping tax rises and deep spending cuts, to reduce Portugal's large deficit and debt.
Still, Portugal faces its highest level of unemployment in three decades and the economy is expected to contract two percent both this year and next, presenting the new government with tough challenges as disposable incomes fall and austerity takes its toll. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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