The resignation of Prime Minister Antonio Costa and the calling of elections for March 2024 are prominent news in European newspapers, especially in Spain and the UK, and Politico has been following the situation since the beginning.
“António Costa’s fall spells trouble for socialist hopes of reaching the top of the European Union,” headlined a North American news portal today.
Politico writes this Friday at the top of the portal that the Prime Minister of Portugal was the main candidate for one of the future top positions in the European Union and that at the moment the “center left” needs a new name to impose itself.
“Costa was not found guilty of anything and could still apply for a job in Brussels. This would not be the first time a senior European Union official has been appointed after being implicated in a scandal,” the Politico article said.
The same publication said that in July 2014, Jean-Claude Juncker was elected president of the European Commission, a year after resigning as prime minister of Luxembourg, as part of a scandal involving the country’s intelligence services allegedly involved in inappropriate behavior.
The same article adds that the Commission’s successor as President, Ursula von der Leyen, was involved in a scandal while she was German Defense Minister, with allegations that lucrative ministry contracts were awarded to external consultants without proper supervision.
In Politico’s analysis of Costa’s supposed intentions for the European position, he also highlights the slowness of justice in Portugal.
In Spain, the digital edition of Spanish newspaper El Pais reports that Portugal will return to elections two years after legislative elections that gave the Socialist Party a historic absolute majority in January 2022.
“The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, announced on Thursday evening in an address to the nation that he would dissolve the Assembly and call new elections for March 10, in response to the serious institutional crisis caused by the dismissal of Socialist Prime Minister António Costa, after the ministry reported that the Supreme Court will investigate him to determine whether he committed any crime while promoting several projects in the energy sector,” writes El Pais correspondent in Lisbon today.
El Mundo reported on the front page of the electronic publication that elections are scheduled for March next year, and recalled the court case in which the Portuguese government is involved.
“António Costa’s chief of staff, Vitor Escaria, one of the people detained in the process that led to the overthrow of the prime minister, kept 75,800 euros in his office, distributed among boxes of wine and on a shelf, which were confiscated,” it is emphasized. digital edition of El Mundo.
A newspaper from the Spanish region of Galicia, Faro de Vigo, writes today in its digital edition that Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has “finally” decided to hold early elections in response to the political crisis that has erupted in the country since his resignation on Tuesday.
Faro de Vigo further writes that “Socialist Prime Minister António Costa is under investigation over alleged irregularities in the issuance of licenses for lithium exploration and green hydrogen production.”
The portal of the French newspaper Le Monde in the first part of today’s issue writes that Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa decided on Thursday, November 9, to dissolve parliament and call early legislative elections for March 10, 2024, “to overcome the crisis” caused by the resignation Socialist Prime Minister António Costa, implicated in a corruption scandal.
“The Conservative President spoke after a nearly four-hour meeting with members of the Council of State, an advisory body, about the situation in the country. Rebelo de Sousa decided to call elections, as demanded by the main opposition parties, on the right and left, but members of the Council of State did not support him,” writes Le Monde.
In the international section, Liberation states that “Portugal is not wasting any time,” referring to the call for elections.
The British portal The Guardian writes that “Portugal will hold early elections – the second in two years – after the resignation of the prime minister” and adds the date of the elections.
The crisis in Portugal was also updated in Friday’s edition of The Times of London.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Dave Martin, and I’m an experienced journalist working in the news industry. As a part of my work, I write for 24 News Reporters, covering mostly sports-related topics. With more than 5 years of experience as a journalist, I have written numerous articles on various topics to provide accurate information to readers.