LISBON (Reuters) – The Socialist Party (PS) of Portugal elected Pedro Nuno Santos as their leader for the upcoming snap parliamentary election on March 10. This follows the resignation of Antonio Costa as prime minister and party leader last month amidst a corruption investigation.
The 46-year-old former infrastructure minister won the election for the PS secretary-general, beating acting Interior Minister Jose Luis Carneiro, who was seen as a more moderate candidate, by securing 62% of the vote. Nuno Santos, a left-wing politician within the party, is known for his successful coordination of support in parliament for the previous government with the far-left from 2015-2019.
Costa, who had been in power since 2015, resigned on Nov. 7 due to an investigation into alleged illegalities in his government’s handling of green energy projects. President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa called for a snap election to be held on March 10.
Nuno Santos had previously resigned in late 2022 amidst a scandal involving a large severance payout by state-owned airline TAP, which he oversaw as infrastructure minister. Despite this scandal denting his popularity, analysts have long seen him as Costa’s successor.
In his victory speech, Nuno Santos praised Costa for the strong economic growth, financial stability, and significant reduction of public debt during his time in office. He also advocated for a strong welfare state, while emphasizing the importance of companies as partners rather than the state replacing them.
His main rival in the upcoming general election is Luis Montenegro, 50, of the center-right Social Democratic Party (PSD), who has promised tax cuts in a bid to secure a majority and expects the implosion of the majority Socialist administration to benefit his campaign.
Most opinion polls show the PS and PSD neck and neck, with many analysts expressing concerns about potential post-election challenges and the potential strengthening of the populist, anti-establishment party Chega.
(Reporting by Andrei Khalip; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
