quarta-feira, 25 de novembro de 2015

António Costa: Who is the new Prime Minister of Portugal?

By Admin 18:01

António Costa, who completed Sunday a year as Secretary General of the Socialist Party and is considered a skilled negotiator politician, was nominated Tuesday as Prime Minister and will form a Government supported by the left-wing majority in Parliament after an election defeat.

Elected Secretary-General of the PS unopposed in direct, with about of 22700 votes, corresponding to 96%, 22 November 2014, António Costa has set since the beginning of his tenure as strategic objectives a victory with an absolute majority in the legislative, the refusal of understandings with the Government PSD/CDS and the rejection of the concept of "arc of governance", which excludes forces like the left bloc and the PCP.

In his first year of leadership, however, faced with adverse factors as the successive episodes relating to the arrest of former Prime Minister José Sócrates, that Costa replied defending a strict separation between justice and politics, and a closing of ranks between the Government parties, PSD and the CDS-PP, who performed at 04 October legislative United in the Coalition "Portugal ahead" (PaF).

In the parliamentary elections, the PSD/CDS-PP Coalition won without an absolute majority with approximately of 38% of the vote, against 32% from PS. Despite the electoral defeat, António Costa resigned not of the Secretary-General.

In the following weeks, instead of being the target of a wave of internal dispute in the PS, the Socialist leader has become a central figure in political life to get involved in negotiations for the formation of a new Government, either with the PSD/CDS coalition with the left-wing Block, PCP and "Greens".

After two meetings, PS and PSD/CDS Coalition broke off the negotiations. Three weeks after that vourself with the "right", Antonio Costa announced to have reached agreement with the left-wing Block, PCP and PEV for the formation of a Government of Socialist initiative.

Mayor of Lisbon between July 2007 and April 2015, António Costa took the first step to get the leadership of the PS to beat its predecessor, António José Seguro, in primary elections â€" the first open to supporters-held in September 2014, being so designated socialist candidate for Prime Minister.

Before, had refused to succeed José Sócrates in June 2011, following the defeat of the Socialists in legislative elections in June of that year, but was on the verge of running for leadership of his party in early 2013, eventually retreating.

Pointed to often for more than a decade as a potential leader of the PS, the former President of the Chamber of Lisbon decided to enter the race for the lead after the European elections may 2014, arguing that "the historic defeat of the PSD/CDS Coalition did not match a victory of PS with identical dimension".

"A victory by just a little," he said, in a criticism of António José Seguro.

Although it was supported by the main historical figures, Socialists of former Presidents of the Republic case Mário Soares and Jorge Sampaio, Costa had to endure three-and-a-half months of intense conflict with the supporters of insurance, period for which confessed publicly have learned "a great lesson", in particular on statutory and violence debate maneuvers.

Son of journalist Maria Antónia Palla and the writer and advertising technician Orlando Costa, goês and militant of the CFP, António Luís Santos da Costa was born in Lisbon on 17 July 1961.

At ten years old, under the pseudonym "Babuch" (boy in Konkani dialect, Goa), already writing television reviews for Century Illustrated and account that decided to be a Socialist to 12 years. It was also at that age that the character of police Perry Mason "convinced" to become a lawyer.

At the age of 14 years he enrolled in the Socialist Youth (JS), which initiated a structure always closely monitored political activity by the current United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), António Guterres, gaining particular notoriety in academic movement and to invigorate the democratic left in 1985.

Degree in legal and Political Sciences from the Faculty of law of Lisbon and with a postgraduate degree in European studies from the Catholic University, the politician with whom Mário Soares said more identify themselves "while young was from the mid-80 connected to sampaísmo, which distanced himself only Governments of Guterres.

António Costa worked in the Law Office of Jorge Sampaio reached the national direction of the PS in 1986 by his hand, by integrating a team led by Vítor Constâncio, always supported Sampaio for the leadership of the party, and was its Director in the 1996 presidential campaign.

Parliamentary Affairs and Minister of Justice in the two Governments led by Guterres, Costa continued to be one of the main faces of Socialists from 2002, ahead of the Socialist Caucus in Parliament, during the leadership of Ferro Rodrigues.

In 2004 he ran for the European Parliament in second place of the list of the Socialist Party, in an election in which the Socialists have achieved an absolute majority in terms, but the head of the list, the former Finance Minister Sousa Franco, died in the middle of the campaign, after incidents between Socialists in lota of Matosinhos.

With José Sócrates as leader of the first Socialist Government of absolute majority, Costa was the "number two" of this Executive, performing the functions of Minister of State and Internal Administration.

Benfica, agnostic, married and with two children, Antony Costa is set to a politician confident, lively, persistent and temperamental.

Punches on the table and raises the voice in discussions on and is praised by political skill and negotiating skills.

Others call it "student and Machiavellian" and get to compare it to the Russian Rasputin, the pleasure that they give you the behind the scenes games, image that accentuates when confesses his admiration for former President of the PSD Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who was a student.

António Costa points as models the ancient rulers Churchill and Gorbachev, "for having introduced large and important changes in the 20th century", as well as the former French Prime Minister Michel Rocard, the latter for the renewability of Socialist ideas. "

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