Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa was reappointed last February after his party’s surprise victory in the early legislative elections. The wear and tear of power has had no hold on Antonio Costa, who has governed since 2015 and whom all the polls gave as the loser. Portrait of a politician that some European socialists look upon with envy.
(Rebroadcast from 6/02/2022)
” Absolute majority is not absolute power, it does not mean governing alone. Antonio Costa has thwarted all the predictions of polling institutes and contradicted the analyzes of editorialists, but he posted a modest victory and wanted to reassure.
Lawyer, music lover, gourmet and fan of puzzles, Antonio Costa fell into the political pot from childhood. Her mother is one of the first female journalists, a feminist activist engaged in the fight for the decriminalization of abortion; his father is a communist writer, originally from Goa. He nicknames his son Babush, the kid.
Babush learns French by reading the New Observer and sticks posters for the PS from the age of 14. The country has just experienced the Carnation Revolution, the Salazar dictatorship has fallen, ” we fought day and night, remembers Margarida Marques, Portuguese Socialist MEP, friend of Antonio Costa. We were at the Socialist Youth, he was 14, I was 21. He was a very committed person, with great political sense. In 1981, I was elected general secretary of the movement. He was then the thinking head of the rival current. His mother sent me a congratulatory telegram. A few years later, she confided to me that he had not appreciated her gesture! »
Affable tactician
Young Costa is a quick learner and quickly rises through the party ranks. At 34, he is Secretary of State for Parliamentary Affairs in the government of Antonio Guterres. ” It was something very formative “, analyzes Yves Léonard, historian, author of a History of Contemporary Portugal (Chandeigne editions).
“ He was immersed in the intricacies of the Portuguese political system where he revealed the qualities of a fine tactician and skill which are somewhat his trademark”. He was then Minister of Justice, Minister of the Interior and briefly a Member of the European Parliament. Then mayor of Lisbon between 2007 and 2014, “a very important experience which served as a springboard for him to take the presidency of the Socialist Party in 2014. »
Faultless course for a popular man who cultivates simplicity. Like Angela Merkel, Antonio Costa likes to shop alone, and in Lisbon, he had set up an office in an underprivileged neighborhood as mayor.
His chair as mayor, he owes it to the union of the left. This experience was useful to him when he embarked on the battle for the legislative elections in 2015. “ Antonio Costa has always shown great subtlety, a morning of a lot of good nature, he is an affable man who exudes empathy, explains Yves Léonard. He therefore combines both tactical skill, a pleasant personality and also firmness and the ability to cut without having his hand shaking when necessary. “.
Political union and economic miracle
That year he made the rally the instrument of his victory. Margarida Marques, then a European civil servant, remembers that he then offered her a head of the list in her region of origin – forgotten, youthful rivalries. ” It does not divide, it tries to unite explains the MEP. In 2015, he went looking for people who were not with him politically. He tried to unify the different currents of thought within the party, I think that’s an important trait of his personality. »
A sense of unity that allows him above all to take the head of the government by ensuring the support of the left of the left: the Portuguese baptize this majority ” geringonca », « improbable contraption ” in French.
” It was not a coalition, it was a socialist government, and the PS had integrated the demands negotiated with the Communist Party and the Left Bloc. Requirements that fit in a few pages. It hasn’t been an easy timerecalls Margarida Marques, who then sat in parliament in Lisbon. We were well aware that we disagreed on European affairs, for example. But each time there was a law to pass, we had to negotiate with them. It has strengthened the role of parliament. “New socialist victory in the 2019 election, the PS chooses to govern in the minority, without formal agreement this time with the partners on the left.
Antonio Costa has results to show: it was the period of what commentators call the ” portuguese miracle “. After the years of austerity imposed by international institutions following the 2008 crisis, under the government of Pedro Passos Coelho (PSD, right), Antonio Costa managed to pull the country out of recession. It raises the salaries of civil servants, the minimum wage, pensions, and to rehabilitate the 35 hours. All while controlling deficits, and even returning to budget surpluses.
“ Antonio Costa has this ability to reconcile objectives that may seem contradictoryjudge Yves Léonard. He very clearly said when he took office at the end of 2015 “we are going to turn the page on austerity by fully respecting our European commitments”. First out of loyalty to the contract, to membership of the European Union, but also because Portugal is very dependent on community aid. He had to be skilful and he gave pledges, and he reassured “.
The far right in ambush
The miracle has its reverse side. Precarious contracts, the price of housing and the issue of low wages fuel discontent and were at the heart of the early legislative campaign. ” The left of the left has criticized Antonio Costa for not going far enough on a certain number of these themes: social protection, the fight against precariousness, labor law », continues Yves Léonard. Not to mention that the pandemic has halted the progress of previous years.
And if he has won the bet at the polls, Antonio Costa will have a lot to do in the next four years: responding to the Portuguese who have massively trusted him, but also dealing with the irruption of the far right in parliament: the Chega party went from one to twelve elected.
” Fortunately, there is an absolute majority, Breath Margarida Brands because the leader of the right, Rui Rio, was open to making a government supported by the extreme right in parliament, he said so in an interview on Friday evening at the very end of the campaign. Unheard of in Portugal.
And then, after three terms as Prime Minister, a record since the return to democracy, what could Babush aspire to? A convinced European, he was very involved in the Council,
In particular to obtain the own resources necessary for the recovery plan. ” Of course, when I look at his skills, I see him as president of a European institution, concedes MEP Margarida Marques. But I don’t know if he has the proper timing. One thing is clear, he has the skill but also the confidence of his peers. And not just socialists, I can say. He has a very positive image, the image of someone capable of building compromises to convince to persuade, and the other leaders trust him “.
Until then, there is no shortage of work: puzzle lover Antonio Costa will have to arrange the 16 billion from the recovery plan in such a way as to bring the Portuguese miracle back to life.