Newscasts - Tired of elections, Portuguese just want a stable government
15/05/2025 18:06
Click the following link to watch video: https://share.newscasts.refinitiv.com/link?entryId=1_vi11nbkf&referenceId=tag:reuters.com,2025:newsml_RW448615052025RP1_K15&pageId=Newscasts Source: 'Reuters - General news videos' Description: For many Portuguese, the hope for Sunday's general election is pretty simple: a government that can navigate the challenges thrown up by global trade tensions and other geopolitics, and an end to the non-stop cycle of polls every year. Alice Rizzo reports. Short Link: https://refini.tv/4310k8C Video Transcript: On Sunday, Portugal will hold its third general election in as many years. Many citizens hope for a government that can tackle global trade tensions and end the relentless cycle of annual polls. But for residents in Marinha Grande, a working-class town in central Portugal, even that seems like wishful thinking. The country has faced a decade of fragile governments, with only one achieving a parliamentary majority, which still collapsed halfway through its term last year. Luis Simoes, a molding plant worker, fears no lasting government will emerge from the election. They have to reach understandings with each other. If they don't reach an understanding up there at the top of the pyramid, we will suffer down here. Despite the impact of US tariffs on imports from the EU, this issue has barely featured in the election campaign. Portugal's economy shrank in the first quarter, setting off alarm bells for big exporters in Marinha Grande. The country's molding industry is Europe's third largest, with exports mostly to other European nations. Joaquim Menezes, President of Iberomoldes, fears trade tensions could affect his European clients and his company, compounded by political instability at home. And if we are not competitive, our customers will suffer, and we will suffer. Opinion polls show the center-right Democratic Alliance of Prime Minister Luis Montenegro leading, but without a parliamentary majority. Similarly, the center-left Socialist Party is close behind. Marinha Grande traditionally votes Socialist, but many turned to the far-right Chega party last year, which won 20.5% of the vote in the region. Nationally, Chega has been polling steadily, but its rhetoric is seen as too toxic for it to be a kingmaker. Political science professor, Jose Tomaz Castello Branco of Lisbon's Catholic University, cites voter fatigue after many elections. Portuguese people don't seem to be mobilized by political ideas because the political parties, the main political parties, are not serving the public with interesting political ideas that capture their mind, that imagination that may capture the hopes for the future.