By Sergio Goncalves and Miguel Pereira
LISBON (Reuters) – Portuguese voters are becoming increasingly frustrated with the country’s political elites as another snap election looms – without any signs that it will bring stability.
Portugal’s centre-right minority government collapsed on Tuesday after Prime Minister Luis Montenegro lost a confidence motion, just 11 months after he was sworn in.
All parties agree that President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has no alternative but to call a new parliamentary election, the third in as many years. The president has signalled the ballot could be held in the middle of May.
Fernando Ferrao, a 69-year-old pensioner, hopes the country can find “a new vision different from the one we have seen for 40 or 50 years” from political elites.
“Let’s hope the people wake up … because if we continue like this, the fall will be vertiginous and we’ll all pay the bill later,” he added.
Andre Azevedo Alves, a professor of political science at the Catholic University of Portugal, said the election was expected to produce “an inconclusive result, probably very similar to the one now in parliament … and it’s very likely we’ll continue to have political instability”.
“It’s in no way certain that the resulting government will be able to govern for four years, so I wouldn’t rule out another election in the not-so-distant future,” he said.
Opinion polls show the centre-left Socialists with a very slim lead, but mostly neck-and-neck with Montenegro’s Democratic Alliance (AD) at around 30%, showing little change from last year’s election.
Although the political right has an overall majority in parliament, the AD has ruled out any deals with the far-right, populist Chega party.
FRUSTRATION
Azevedo Alves said voters were “tired of electoral repeats, of the political class’ inability to deliver stable governments”.
“There’s a lot of frustration among voters … the vast majority doesn’t want another election”, which could result in higher abstention, he added.
Lisbon resident Paulo Goncalves, 53, said the government’s collapse and resulting snap election were “bad, because a lot of things will stand still … and the country can’t stop”.
Montenegro called the motion of confidence after the opposition questioned his integrity over the dealings of a consultancy firm he founded that is now run by his sons.
He has denied wrongdoing or any ethical shortcomings by the firm, which has contracts with private companies.
(Reporting by Sergio Goncalves and Miguel Pereira; Editing by David Latona and Paul Simao)
