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Topic: Socialists take control in Portugal
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DrConway
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 490
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posted 20 February 2005 04:54 PM
Socialists Win Portugal Vote, Control Parliament quote:
LISBON (Reuters) - Portugal's opposition Socialists won clear control of parliament in Sunday elections, ousting the prime minister after only seven months in power, according to exit polls.The Socialists led by former environment minister Jose Socrates polled 46.9 percent to 50.7 percent of the vote, according to a poll for SIC television. The results give them the absolute majority needed to implement their platform to boost the lagging economy in western Europe's poorest country.
As an aside, note the interesting name of the party leader. 
From: You shall not side with the great against the powerless. | Registered: May 2001
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ian gregson
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 8193
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posted 20 February 2005 05:13 PM
2002 ResultsSocial Democrats: 105 seats (40.1%) Socialists: 96 seats (37.8%) Popular Party: 14 seats (8.7%) Communists/Greens: 12 seats (6.9%) Left Bloc: 3 seats (2.7%)
From: Republic of East Van | Registered: Feb 2005
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NDP Newbie
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 5089
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posted 20 February 2005 07:51 PM
Cheat notes for people who may be confused about the SoDems:Popular Party: centre-right to more extreme (not fascist though) Social Democrats: Centre/Centre-right Socialists: Centre-Left Commies/Greens: far-left Incidentally, I knew this was coming. :-) The incumbent right-wing parties got decimated by Portuguese voters in the recent EU Parliament elections. [ 20 February 2005: Message edited by: NDP Newbie ]
From: Cornwall, ON | Registered: Mar 2004
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Wilf Day
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 3276
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posted 20 February 2005 10:28 PM
With 226 seats declared, the Portuguese Socialists have an absolute majority of 120. (Four more seats represent Portuguese abroad.) The outgoing government was crushed, getting only 72 seats.The large district/ small district phenomenon can be seen here too, as in most PR systems with districts. Portugal has 230 deputies in 22 districts, an average magnitude of only 10, although four of them are fairly large -- Lisbon 48, Porto 38, Braga 18, and Setubal 17. The Communist/Green Alliance won only 14 seats, when they deserved 17, because they were short changed in rural districts. They got 5 seats in Lisbon, 3 in Setubal, 2 in Porto, 1 in Braga, and 3 in all the rest of the country (including one remarkable three-seater, Evora, where the Socialists got 2 seats, the Communist/Green alliance 1, and the right came third.) Last time, the Greens won only 2 seats, hence the alliance this time. Similarly, the small "Left Bloc" got only 8 seats when they deserved 14 (up from 3 seats last time when they got only 2.8% of the vote): 4 in Lisbon, 2 in Setubal, & 2 in Porto. But this didn't hurt the Socialists at all. They got a clear majority with only 45% of the vote. Not all PR systems are perfect, and sometimes the left wins a bonus. Just as could happen in BC. Look at Portugal's smallest district, their only two-seater, Portalegre:
Socialists: 38910 (54.80%) 2
Centre-right PSD: 14389 (20.26%) 0
Communist-Green: 8585 (12.09%) 0
Left Bloc: 3264 (4.60%) 0
Conservative (PP): 2997 (4.22%) 0 [ 21 February 2005: Message edited by: Wilfred Day ]
From: Port Hope, Ontario | Registered: Oct 2002
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Wilf Day
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 3276
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posted 21 February 2005 12:50 AM
Socrates opposed the invasion of Iraq: quote:
Socrates also said he is committed to closer foreign policy coordination between European Union nations. He opposed the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, which the outgoing government supported, although he said he values warm relations with the United States.
Socrates also wants to change the abortion laws: quote:
. . .hold a fresh referendum on the Roman Catholic country's strict laws against abortion.Voters were also concerned over the continued poor state of public services. A recent flu outbreak overwhelmed hospitals while courts have over one million backlogged cases even as the public wage bill consumes 15 percent of gross domestic product.
From: Port Hope, Ontario | Registered: Oct 2002
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Fidel
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 5594
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posted 21 February 2005 10:27 AM
Resistance is futile. All billionaire capitalists will be assimilated?. ha ha"Where there is fire, there is smoke. And, in that smoke, from this day forward, my people will crouch and conspire, and plot, and plan, for the inevitable day of man's downfall, the day, when he finally and self destructively turns his weapons against his own kind, the day of the writing in the sky, when your cities lie buried under radioactive rubble, when the sea is a dead sea, and the land is a wasteland, out of which I will lead my people from their captivity, and we shall build our own cities, in which, there will be no place for humans, except to serve our ends, and we shall have found our own armies, our own religion, our own dynasty, and that day, is upon you noooow!" -Caesar(Roddy McDowell, really)
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes
From: Viva La Revolución | Registered: Apr 2004
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Wilf Day
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 3276
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posted 27 February 2005 11:55 AM
The Socialist Party got a "large party" bonus and won 120 of the 226 seats declared by provisional results (4 seats to come from out-of-country voters), 53% of the seats, with 45% of the votes.Portugal has a regional pure list system, with a wide variety of district magnitudes, from 48 deputies in Lisbon down to 2 in Portalegre. In the smaller districts, of course the 3 smaller parties are short-changed: the Communist-Green alliance has 6.2% of seats with 7.6% of votes, the further-left Left Bloc has 3.5% of seats with 6.4% of votes, and the right-wing Popular Party has 5.3% of seats with 7.3% of votes. And 6 splinter parties got 2.13% of votes between them with no seats. While looking at this, I noticed the position of women on the lists.
They have no legislated quotas, so the right-wing parties have few women on the lists, but the Socialist Party obviously has a new quota system: one third women. (Except in the autonomous Azores, where they ran 3 men.) So did they elect 40 women? Well, no, 34. In almost all the 20 districts, women were # 3, # 6, # 9, #12, etc. In five districts 2 Socialists were elected: that's 10 men. And so on, with only two exceptions. In Coimbra, a woman headed the list, and women were also #3 and #5: their Socialists elected 3 women and 3 men. In Aveiro a woman was #2, and they elected 5 men and 3 women. A useful demonstration of why list size matters to women -- and to proportionality, if there is no Swedish/Norwegian style national compensation system.
From: Port Hope, Ontario | Registered: Oct 2002
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radiorahim
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 2777
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posted 27 February 2005 03:45 PM
From Electionworld.org:Socialist Party 45.1% 120 seats
Social Democratic Party 28.7% 72 seats
Unitarian Democratic Coalition
7.6% 14 seats
(12 Communist Party, 2 Ecologist Party)
Popular Party 7.3% 12 seats
Left Bloc 6.4% 8 seats
Pending 4 seats That's quite a stunning victory for parties on the left! In the presidential campaign the Socialist Party candidate won 55.1% of the vote compared to 34.5% for the right-wing Social Democratic Party candidate. The Communist candidate won 5.1%, the Left Bloc candidate 3% and the Communist Party of Portugese Workers candidate 1.6%.
From: a Micro$oft-free computer | Registered: Jun 2002
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NDP Newbie
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 5089
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posted 27 February 2005 06:12 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Wilfred Day:
Really? With the trots and miscellaneous marxists in the Left Bloc? They can't even agree with each other. Or do you mean with the Communist / Green alliance, whom the Left Bloc denounce as too responsible? That could have worked.
What's so bad about Trots? They're leading the charge for democracy and liberty and equality in Hong Kong. Anybody who battles both post-Stalinist and corporate interests kicks ass.
From: Cornwall, ON | Registered: Mar 2004
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Wilf Day
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 3276
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posted 27 February 2005 07:02 PM
Correio da Manha says (translated): quote:
The left swept Portugal as has not been seen since the years 1975 and 1976.This victory of the PS balances the political map of the European Union, that now has 13 center-right and right governments and 12 socialist governments.
(As an aside, I note that they title Lisbon "THE URBAN AREA OF LISBON -- A EUROPEAN And ATLANTIC METROPOLIS." (I can see the Mayor's letterhead now: "Toronto -- A Northern World Metropolis." Maybe we should start a contest for the best name.) [ 27 February 2005: Message edited by: Wilfred Day ]
From: Port Hope, Ontario | Registered: Oct 2002
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