INTERVIEW. Portugal: "A victory of the left certainly, but it must be said with precautions"

The victory of the Portuguese Socialist Party will allow Prime Minister Antonio Costa to pretend to reform a government. Several voices have celebrated a victory of the left in a country marked by very liberal measures after the 2008 crisis. However, the economy remains driven by low wages, says José Da Costa, a lecturer at the University of Rennes 2.

Portuguese Socialist Prime Minister Antonio Costa won the general elections on Sunday (October 6th). With 106 out of 230 seats, the Socialist Party is in a strong position to lead a new ruling coalition. He is well ahead of his main opponent, the Social Democratic Party (PSD, center right).

The 58-year-old former mayor of Lisbon has reaped the benefits of his policy, which since 2015 has been able to turn the page on austerity without sacrificing strict budgetary discipline.

However, it is a "half-hearted victory" for Antonio Costa, according to José Da Costa, director of the Portuguese department at the University of Rennes 2, Lecturer and specialist in issues related to "the New state " at the time of the dictator Salazar. Interview.

Is this a total victory for the current Portuguese Prime Minister?

It is a victory for Antonio Costa who will be the likely future prime minister. But it is successful in half-hearted because it does not have the majority with the only Socialist Party. There are many things to be solved economically and socially in Portugal at the moment.

Several political hypotheses exist, but we are moving towards maintaining the current coalition. We do not know if it will be the same as in 2015, when the parties of left and extreme left, including Bloc Esquerda (BE), have allied. Especially since this leftist party has not lost seats after four years of coalition. However, the future government formula can not be done in the same terms, because the Socialist Party won many seats.

Does this success mean that a left-wing policy can be an electoral winner?

The Socialist Party has a history of the left for a long time and this victory of the left is a bit unusual in Europe. But Antonio Costa does not come from the leftmost wing. He is a liberal with social concerns.

Portugal is in a better situation from the economic point of view and unemployment. It has managed to overcome a number of problems related to the 2008 crisis. Unemployment is low (just over 6%) but the jobs created are precarious and linked to tourism. The minimum wage also remains very low. It is therefore a victory of the left certainly, but it must be said with great care. The economy is based on knowledge and research with a low wage policy. For example, young people with a high level of education find it difficult to find a job with a living wage.

Some recent social movements require more investment in the national health service, which worked well before the crisis. It was one of the conquests of the democratic revolution.

This campaign was marked by the appearance of a far-right party ...

This is the first time since the fall of Salazar. The Chega! ( "Suffice it!" In Portuguese, Ed) is a far-right party that has campaigned targeting gypsies, who are an ethnic minority in Portugal abused for centuries. With 3% and a deputy, this party is far from the results of the other far-right populists in Europe.

There are problems of daily racism in Portugal against gypsies and blacks, even if they are Portuguese today. The official discourse is to be vigilant on these issues, but in reality it ignores all these issues and few politicians will position themselves on migration issues. But these are themes that are boiling in Portuguese society. The extreme right benefits from the political vacuum.

It should be noted in contrast that the Free Party (located between the BE and the Socialist Party) elected a member from Guinea-Bissau with 1.1%: the historian and researcher and 37-year-old Joacine Katar Moreira .

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