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Portugal sets general election for September 27

Portugal’s president set this year’s general election for September 27, starting a three-month campaign to elect a new government.

Portugal’s president on Saturday set this year’s general election for September 27, starting a three-month campaign to elect a new government that will have to turn around a deep economic slump.

President Anibal Cavaco Silva said in a televised news conference that he set the date after consultations with all political parties.

The decision came on the same day that an opinion poll showed that the opposition, centre-right Social Democrats were slightly ahead of Prime Minister Jose Socrates’ Socialists for the first time in several years.

The poll, published in weekly Semanario Economico, showed the Social Democrats had 35.8 percent support against 34.5 percent for the Socialists.

Although the difference was within the margin of error, it confirmed the victory of the Social Democrats at this month’s European election with 31.7 percent support over the Socialists’ 26.6 percent backing.

That result challenged a widely held view that Socrates was easily heading to a second victory and threw open the general election.

Socrates has been undermined by the economic downturn but tough reforms before the crisis made him unpopular with many civil servants such as teachers. His image has also taken a hit from a probe into an environmental licensing scandal at the time he was environment minister in a previous government.

The outcome of the election could be especially important because it is likely to end the parliamentary majority enjoyed by the current government, thus making horse trading between parties needed at a time of economic slump.

The global economic crisis is set to lead to a contraction of 3.5 percent in Portugal’s economy this year.

But the downturn comes after several years that Portugal struggled to keep up with the rest of Europe, with many traditional industries like textiles moving to cheaper countries like China. 

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