Portugal: parliament dissolved, early vote on 30/1

(ANSA) - LISBON, NOV 04 - Portuguese President MarceloRebelo de Sousa has announced the dissolution of parliament and has called early elections for January 30 following the opening of the socialist government's 2022 budget.

    Prime Minister Antonio Costa, who broke with the far-left parties that had supported him since 2015, has already promised to campaign for a "strengthened, stable and lasting majority", while the right-wing opposition is plagued by internal divisions.

    The rejection of the budget "has totally reduced the support base of the government", while 2022 will be "a decisive year for a lasting exit from the pandemic and the social crisis that has hit us," the head of state said in a television speech. (HANDLE).