Portugal’s president dissolves parliament; Early elections must be scheduled | Globalism

A statement from the presidential office said only that a majority of council members had agreed to dissolve parliament, but did not say when early elections could be held.

Rebelo de Sousa still needs to ratify the dissolution decree.

Parliament’s rejection of the budget does not automatically lead to an election, but the president, who is due to address the nation on Thursday night, warned before the vote that he would have no other choice.

The state budget for the minority Socialist government was rejected by parties both left and right, ending six years of relative political stability under Prime Minister Antonio Costa.

Rebelo de Sousa met with major political parties over the weekend and was informed by many that snap elections are scheduled for January. Portuguese newspaper “Expresso” reports that Rebelo de Sousa still wants time to think about a date.

Earlier on Wednesday, Economy Minister Pedro Sisa Vieira told Reuters that early elections appeared to be the best option to end the deadlock and would not undermine the government’s commitment to achieving fiscal targets or growth prospects.

But analysts say elections alone may not solve the political impasse because it may be difficult for a single party or a traditional coalition to win a steady majority of seats in parliament.

Opinion polls show that support for the Socialists is little changed from the 36% obtained in the last national elections in 2019, with the Social Democrats coming in second at around 27%.

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