Portugal elects president to second term

PORTUGAL elected its conservative president to a second term yesterday, exit polls indicated, delivering a harsh political setback to the minority Socialist government, which is struggling to contain an acute economic crisis.

Anibal Cavaco Silva, who is supported by the main opposition Social Democratic Party, collected between 51% and 58% of the vote compared with 17%-21% for second-placed Socialist Party candidate Manuel Alegre, polls by the three broadcasters said.

Four other candidates picked up the other votes.

The government has enacted deeply unpopular austerity measures amid fears that the financial crisis spells economic disaster for Portugal.

The president possesses the power — known as his “atomic bomb” — to call a general election if he feels the government is taking the wrong path. However, such an extreme measure is uncommon.

An emphatic win for Cavaco Silva would add to political pressure on the embattled centre-left government as Prime Minister Jose Socrates scrambles to restore international confidence in Portugal’s ailing economy.

Portugal’s political and economic fortunes are important for the rest of Europe because its government’s collapse would add fresh momentum to the continent’s debt crisis.

Many analysts predict Portugal’s economic woes will sooner or later force it to accept a bailout like the ones provided to ourselves and Greece last year.

The government doesn’t face a general election until 2013.

A key role of the head of state, which Cavaco Silva has said he will respect, is to ensure political stability.

The government insists it doesn’t need a bailout. Instead, it has cut public sector pay and welfare entitlements and hiked taxes to reduce a huge debt load that threatens to wreck the economy.

The measures prompted dozens of strikes last year, including a 24-hour general strike that shut down many public services. Public transport and mail services are due to be hit again in strikes next month.

“Voters will take this opportunity to punish the ruling Socialist Party for the country’s economic difficulties,” Antonio Barroso, an analyst with Eurasia Group in New York, predicted before the results.