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The powers of the president in Portugal are slightly less than in Lithuania, but he can veto laws and has important functions in the fields of defense and foreign policy. Since the fall of the dictatorship in 1974, only a second round of presidential elections has been needed.
Trends are likely to be normal this year. The election campaign has been severely restricted by COVID-19, with five recent numbers of new coronavirus cases per day and quarantine recently introduced.
He wants both to save the drowned and to fight against crises
Among the seven presidential candidates, a clear favorite is Rebel de Sousa. The 72-year-old politician has been a member of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) for many years (which is right-wing and belongs to the European People’s Party family).
He worked briefly in various governments and for three years (1996-1999) he was president of the PSD and leader of the opposition. At the beginning of this century, he retired from active politics and became a popular figure on television, commenting on political and sports issues and presenting new books on his signature shows.
This stage of life has become an important springboard for the presidency in 2016. In the elections, in addition to the PSD, his candidacy also has the support of another right-wing political force, the Popular Party.
„Reuters“ / „Scanpix“ nuotr./Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa
The president is popular in the country for his simplicity: he visits cinemas, queues in casual clothes and rescues two girls by kayak in the sea in August.
He sees the unfinished fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic crisis as the main reason for his second term.
Rebelo de Sousa is sometimes criticized for his conservatism: he does not support abortion, he did not condemn the controversial decision of the PSD to request support from the “Enough” party to form the government of the Azores.
The president is popular in the country for his simplicity: he visits cinemas, queues in casual clothes and rescues two girls by kayak in the sea in August.
Critics also remember the outrageous theft of weapons from the army in 2017. (The president has considerable powers in the field of defense). The country was also shocked by the scandalous death of the Ukrainian Ihor Homeniuk when he was detained at the Lisbon airport without a work visa and died as a result of violence from border and foreign officials.
The president was expected to react more harshly to the scandal and demand the resignation of the interior minister. Despite all the circumstances, the M. Rebel de Sousai survey promises 59-66 percent. votes and victory in the first round.
Governors ignore elections
The ruling Socialist Party (PS) does not formally participate in the elections and does not even support any candidate. However, Ana Gomes, a member of the PS, is running for election, supported by two small Greens and supported by the Socialist Youth Section as one of the three main options.
The 66-year-old former diplomat and member of the European Parliament is likely to remain second or third in the elections.
AFP / “Scanpix” nuotr./Ana Gomes
The PS’s position of not officially supporting the candidate is probably also determined by the fact that A. Gomes does not skimp on criticism of Prime Minister A. Costa. The politician presents himself as a fighter against corruption: he signifies support for the famous programmer of the country Rui Pinto, whose leaked information has shocked the world of football, and now the programmer is on trial.
The candidate promises to pay more attention to hard-earned cattle and says that Ms. Rebelo de Sousa likes very much to receive businessmen instead of workers in her palace. Political support parties emphasize that electing the first woman to lead the country would be a good sign for all women and girls in the country.
Instead of the traditional meetings with voters, A. Gomes presents his ideas live every night on social networks, in which experts from different fields who support the candidate also participate.
The politician believes that the current leader of the country may lack votes before winning the first round, and the balance of power in the second would already be different. Poll politicians promise 9-14 percent. votes.
Before bullying – with lipstick
Although he’s not running for office, Andre Ventura, a 38-year-old attorney, could be the real winner of the election. He previously belonged to the PSD. In 2019, an active user of the social network and former football commentator founded the match “Užteks”.
Although he is the only member of this political force in the country’s parliament (and the first far-right politician in it since the collapse of the dictatorship), he should rank at least third in presidential elections held by far-left politicians. . which he generally fought for.
„Scanpix“ / „SIPA“ nuotr./Andre Ventura
If the parliamentary elections were to take place next weekend, “Enough” would seriously claim third place.
In the elections, Ventura received the support of the symbol of the radical French right Marine Le Pen. However, the joint press conference of politicians turned into a near-unsuccessful fiasco: the journalists abandoned it because they were not allowed to keep safe distances. The meeting moved to the field and the journalists returned.
The politician does not intend to cede the country for quarantine, although it is happening in a more modest way than anticipated. A. Ventura affirms that his main objective is a different political and legal system in the country.
The politician is known for his racist comments: last year he asked for a member of Parliament with Portuguese and Equatorial Guinean citizenship to be sent to “his country”, and he is negative about the Roma.
The person elected will not be the most politically powerful in Portugal and there is little intrigue about the outcome of the elections.
The red lips became a symbol of resistance for A. Venturas. He mocked the appearance and color of the lips of Maris Matias, leader of the Left Bloc and presidential candidate, prompting Twitter users to upload their photos to the social network with red lips.
A. Gomes also joined this campaign. Despite all the scandals, A.Venturai promises about a tenth of the votes.
The other four candidates are far behind the top three and are unlikely to come anywhere near the double-digit support percentage. The person elected will not be the most politically powerful in Portugal, with little intrigue about the outcome of the elections. But they are likely to show that in another country, far-right rhetoric resonates with voters.
Matas Baltrukevičius is a political scientist
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