PortugalMADRID, Jan 31The Socialist Party received an absolute majority in the Parliament of Portugal, according to the results of the early elections, which were announced by the Ministry of Internal Affairs after counting more than 99% of the ballots. continues. Thus, the leader of the socialists, António Costa, will retain the premier's chair, in this post he will be longer than any of his predecessors since the Carnation Revolution (1974). At the same time, Costa promised to conduct a dialogue with all political forces represented in the Assembly of the Republic. “An absolute majority is not absolute power, it does not mean ruling alone,” he said, speaking to supporters. According to him, by supporting the socialists, the Portuguese “stand for stability” and, in fact, the Sunday vote became a vote of confidence in the government. «The Portuguese have unequivocally confirmed that they want a socialist government for the next four years,» the leader of the Socialist Party added. communists. The refusal of the Left Bloc to support the government's budget draft for 2022 led to early elections. The leader of the country's second largest party, the center-right Social Democratic Party, Rui Riou congratulated Costa on his victory, acknowledging that the results were worse for him than expected, and did not rule out that may leave the leadership of the party. The Social Democrats received much less than the polls predicted for them, and as much as in the 2019 elections — about 28%. Third place was taken by the far-right Chega, led by Andre Ventura, who was its only representative in the previous parliament. 7% of voters voted for her. The Left Bloc under the leadership of Katarina Martins noticeably worsened its positions. If in the 2019 elections 9.5% of voters voted for him, now 4.5%. Slightly more than 4% received a coalition of communists and environmentalists (PCP-PEV). Newly formed right-wing Liberal Initiative gains 5%.
