Portugal: Montenegro government on the verge of collapse?
Portugal seems to be on course for a snap election after Prime Minister Luís Montenegro was accused of having benefited from lucrative consulting contracts concluded through a family firm. In reaction, Montenegro has proposed a confidence vote in parliament, where his PSD government does not have a majority. Commentators are divided over whether new elections are a good idea in the current situation.
Clear decisions needed
Visão hopes elections will give the next government a stronger mandate:
“A minority government will always be subject to the will of this or that political force. And that does not make for stability at this highly problematic moment in international politics, from which as a member of Nato and the EU we cannot escape. ... In this world of dictators, neo-dictators and old autocrats, it is good when people say what they want, how they want it and whom they want.”
The populists are waiting in the wings
The political institutions are making such a bad impression that the populists are bound to gain support, Jornal de Notícias fears:
“We have a prime minister with business dealings that are in conflict with his office, a ruling party, the PSD, that can't hide its discomfort with the unexpected crisis, and a president - Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa [also PSD] - who, although irritated, is weighing his words even more carefully than usual. Unfortunately, the opposition also has its weaknesses. ... Politics as a whole, which so desperately needs to restore confidence, has been weakened across the board. And when the institutions and their leaders shoot themselves in the foot, democracy as a whole loses out. The wind of populism blowing from so many directions should prompt those in positions of political responsibility to pull themselves together.”