Socialists win places in Portugal but lose Lisbon
This content was posted on September 27, 2021 – 10:46
(AFP)
At the head of the Portuguese government, the socialists won the municipal changes carried out on Sunday (27), but suffered a surprising defeat in Lisbon – reveal the results of the vote, after counting almost all the last elections.
Of the total of 308 municipalities, the party of the prime minister, António Costa, obtained 34.4% of the votes and snatched at least 147 mayors. The center-right characteristic won in 108 cities, with 30.8% of the votes.
Socialists called first in the local locations of 2013 and 2017. This time, the expectation was for a closer victory than four years ago, when they have the best result in their history.
In 2017, they took 161 city halls and 38% of the votes, against 98 municipalities conquered by the main religion legend, the Social Democratic Party (PSD, center-right), and by its allies, with 28%.
Now, with 35.8% of the votes in Lisbon, the coalition led by former European commissioner Carlos Moedas went against the grain and defeated the mayor at the end of his term, Fernando Medina, who won 31.7% of the votes. He acknowledged defeat on Sunday night (26).
In Porto, the great city in the north of the country, the independent Rui Moreira won a second term, with a wide margin, confirmed by polls. With a slight high, abstention reached 46.3%.
The changes took place in a context globally favorable to the government of António Costa, which had just announced that, as of next Thursday (30), most of the sanitary restrictions still in force will be suspended.
The prime minister actively participated in the campaign and promised to adjust the direction of the economy, which was hit hard by the covid-19 pandemic. In this sense, it announced financial investment projects under the European economic recovery plan.