Marcelo addresses nation, expressing hopes for constructive election debate
President Marcelo addressed the nation this evening, setting the date for snap elections as Sunday May 18.
In a speech which lasted longer than usual (Marcelo has already had to deliver two of these speeches in recent years), Portugal’s head of state went over the origins of this crisis, which he said was purely political, and centred on the trustworthiness and reliability of the prime minister.
Stressing the context of a rapidly changing world and global economy, Marcelo said he hoped that the debate that will precede these latest elections gives power to democracy, and not to dictatorship.
It was clear that Marcelo hopes for “dignified debate”, not more of the unedifiying slanging matches that the country has become used to.
Marcelo referred to a “panorama” that has never before been evident in Portuguese democracy.
There is a lot to unpack from the president’s address, as it is so clear that this was a crisis that should have been settled without the enormous expense and performance of holding new elections at such a crucial time in the geopolitical context – and so close to other elections on the national political calendar (municipal in six months’ time, and presidential four months later).
As commentators were quick to point out after the president spoke, there is no assurance that new elections will bring any kind of ‘working majority’, irrespective of which party wins.
