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Portugal’s Coelho admits defeat in local polls

Iran Press TV

Mon Sep 30, 2013 6:51AM GMT

Portuguese Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho has admitted ‘national defeat’ in local elections, as voters showed their dissatisfaction toward the government’s harsh austerity cuts.

On Sunday, Coelho announced the defeat of his conservative Social Democratic party and congratulated the opposition Socialists for their “significant victory” after partial results were presented from the municipal vote held earlier in the day.

“As Prime Minister I will continue along the path we are on, which is essential in order to overcome the economic crisis and restore confidence and growth for Portugal,” Coelho stated.

“The SDP has suffered its worst results in municipal elections,” he added, calling the defeat the “price to pay” for the government’s austerity policies.

The partial results covered nearly 90 percent of the constituencies and showed that the Social Democrats had received just 18.9 percent of the vote while the main opposition party the Socialists had gathered 36.7 percent in support.

The Sunday elections involved mayors and city councils in 308 municipalities as well as assemblies of representatives in 3,091 smaller administrative units.

A record 80 independent mayoral candidates ran in the race, which analysts say is a reflection of the disillusionment with the mainstream parties.

The elections came two weeks before the government is to present its budget proposal for 2014, which will include new spending cuts to an amount of 3.3 billion euros (about USD 4.5 billion).

The new cuts are required by the country’s creditors - the European Union, the European Central Bank, and the International Monetary Fund - which granted Portugal an emergency loan worth 78 billion euros (USD 102 billion) after the country’s borrowing costs soared to unsustainable levels in 2011.

The Portuguese government has imposed a series of deeply unpopular austerity measures to meet the conditions of the international bailout.

Critics say the government’s reforms have caused the record high unemployment rate of more than 16 percent and the two-and-half year recession.

Analysts also say Portugal will likely need further financial assistance by its creditors as the austerity measures have hit the country so hard that it is making it very difficult for the economy to recover.

CAH/HSN