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Black Swan Lands In Portugal As Socialists Move To Overthrow Government

Tyler Durden's picture




 

Late last month we highlighted to reappointment of Portuguese PM Pedro Passos Coelho, noting that, in the words of Communist leader Jerónimo de Sousa, the President’s move to ignore the left’s attempt to form a government in the wake of largely inconclusive elections may be a “manifest waste of time.”

As FT put it a few weeks back, “no government on the left or right [can] hope to survive without support from the PS, which won 32.3 per cent [in October]” which means President Anibal Cavaco Silva might have made a mistake in propping up Coelho as the PM’s restoration will only serve to embolden an already angry left coalition. 

Well sure enough, socialist leader Antonio Costa has now “formalized” plans to unite with the Left Bloc and Communists in order to reject the Coelho government. Here’s Bloomberg

Portugal’s Socialists approved a plan to join forces with three other parties and oust Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho’s administration, raising the prospect of a new government committed to speeding the reversal of spending cuts tied to the country’s international bailout.

 

The Socialist-led program “is clearly less market-friendly than the one of the incumbent government,” analysts at the Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc in London, including Clement Mary-Dauphin, said.

 

The Coelho government will fall if the Socialists and their allies close ranks and guarantee a majority in parliament to reject the program in a vote scheduled for Tuesday. President Anibal Cavaco Silva, who has the power to name prime ministers, would then decide if he’ll ask Costa to form a coalition. Parliament can’t be dissolved less than six months after it’s elected, meaning Cavaco Silva doesn’t have the option of calling fresh elections.

 

“The conditions are in place to form a Socialist Party government supported by a majority in parliament,” the party said in a statement e-mailed early on Monday. The Socialist government can be “stable” and last for a full term, it said.

Well, it can probably be "stable" domestically, but don't think for a second that Brussels and Berlin are going to put up with this.

After all, the whole point of putting Alexis Tsipras through round after round of "mental waterboarding" over the summer was to discourage any Syriza sympathizers from attempting to use a euro exit (i.e. proving that the EMU is in fact "dissoluble" despite the protestations of many a eurocrat) as a bargaining chip on the way to negotiating for debt relief. As we put it, "the real question is whether or not the ATM lines, empty shelves, and gas station queues in Greece have had their intended psychological effect on Spanish (and Portuguese) voters. In other words, the question is whether the troika has succeeded in undercutting the democratic process outside of Greece by indirectly strong-arming the electorate."

The answer, apparently, is "no" because as Bloomberg goes on to point out, the new coalition in Portugal will likely push to roll back the programs that have made the country a bailout "success" story:

Yields [on Portuguese bonds] rose 6 basis points to 2.74 percent as of 8:53 a.m. London time, after reaching 2.78 percent, the highest since July. While the security traded as high as 18 percent three years ago at the height of Europe’s debt crisis, it was as low as 1.5 percent in March and 2.3 percent just before the elections.

 

The Left Bloc has said in the past that it wants to restructure the country’s debt, and the Communists have said Portugal should prepare to exit the euro. The Socialist, who requested the bailout and then lost the 2011 election, have been less radical, voting alongside Coelho’s coalition on policies including the treaty establishing the European Stability Mechanism rescue fund.

So while Costa will probably take a more moderate approach than his new coalition partners, the socialists are aligning with anti-euro parties which means that in failry short order, you'll likely see friction develop between Lisbon and Brussels and critically, between Lisbon and Berlin. Here's AFP:

The prospect of a new government backed by the Left Bloc -- which is close to Greece's anti-austerity Syriza -- and the radical Communists raised concern in Europe, even though the Socialist Party (PS) has insisted that "Portugal will respect its international commitments" whoever takes the reins.

Note that this is the worst nightmare for Jean Claude-Juncker, Angela Merkel, and Christine Lagarde. Just about the last thing the EMU needs is to face a Greek rerun with a country that actually "matters" just as the bloc is desperately attempting to cope with the worsening refugee crisis. But then again, you shouldn't worry because just like Bear Stearns wasn't going under, Portugal will never ask for debt relief...

...and it's a good thing, because all-in, Portugal has one of the highest debt burdens around...

*  *  *

Bonus color from Citi:

Jose Mourinho may share more than just a common nationality with Portuguese Prime Minister Passos Coelho; both appear to be on the brink of losing their jobs. Portugal may be about to see the first power-grab of its kind in Europe since Turkey’s ‘real postmodern’ coup of 1997 (link here, for those interested).

UKIP MEP Nigel Farage has compared the situation in Portugal to a “modern day implementation of the Brezhnev Doctrine”. Whilst that latest comparison may be a little dramatic, the ramifications and wider consequences of the situation unravelling in Portugal could be huge. We highlighted back at the start of the summer that Portugal could well be Europe’s ‘next Greece’ and fears are perhaps about to be realised…

Background:

Portuguese elections were held on October 4, delivering a centre-right government under PM Coelho – the Forward Portugal Alliance (PAF). This group has already been in power for four years, and had imposed a tough regime of austerity including cuts to pay, pensions and public spending, with tax hikes – all as part of a EUR78bn bailout agreement with the Troika. The country only just emerged from recession in 2014.

Coelho’s group won the most votes and has the largest bloc of seats in parliament; however, it lost its overall majority.

Now the Socialist Party and a number of allies (Communists, Green Party and Left Bloc) control 122 seats in the 230 seats parliament. Their leader, Antonio Costa, has pointed out that 62% of the population, in his eyes, ‘voted against’ the austerity politics of the incumbent government. This new leftist alliance is anti-austerity and fiercely Eurosceptic – several of the parties campaigned directly to withdraw from the EUR.

Despite their apparent majority, the President spurned the anti-European leftists and named the centre-right group under PM Coelho as a minority government. He was supposedly under pressure to do so from Germany’s Chancellor Merkel who described the prospect of a radical anti-austerity coalition in Portugal as “very negative”. The left-wing alliance has now vowed to oust the government and put an end to austerity.

Potential ramifications:

As you would expect, the first consequence for these alarming developments was for Portugal’s bond yields to surge this morning. It can do a weak EUR no favours either in the long run.

European totalitarianism? More poignantly though, this is being touted by Eurosceptics as a prime example of what is often referred to as ‘Brussel’s totalitarianism’. In their eyes, what would be a democratically elected majority (the left coalition) with a clear mandate to challenge the Troika’s austerity programme and perhaps even leave the single currency, has been quashed. They argue that Portugal’s sovereignty has been trampled upon in the name of the greater good of the union – if democratic elections are only legitimate if the result pleases Brussels, is there real democracy in Europe?

*  *  *

Coming soon to Lisbon:

 

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Mon, 11/09/2015 - 08:39 | 6766741 _ConanTheLibert...
_ConanTheLibertarian_'s picture

If this helps to trigger the EU collapse then bring it on!

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 08:47 | 6766755 y3maxx
y3maxx's picture

No middle ground anymore....either corrupt Fasvism or....corrupt Socialism.

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 08:51 | 6766762 Haus-Targaryen
Haus-Targaryen's picture

Calm down everyone -- as Ghordo pointed out last time -- this is totally within Portugal's constitution.  The PoP can do this, as he too is elected like in the United States.  Thus his decisions re; government are completely political, and not a-political like many other heads of state in Europe.  

Best case for us/worst case for bankers -- Portgual runs without a government until the next elections in 18 months or so.  There will be no Greece in portugal until at least 2017.  

Bummer.  But absent a revolution there -- it is the way it is.  

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 08:54 | 6766770 Stainless Steel Rat
Stainless Steel Rat's picture

C'mon Portugal!  What the heck is wrong with a PR guy from a brokerage firm who heads the center-right party that was born trying to pass itself off as Socialist.  Don't they have a right-wing press there to reinforce their lie by calling him left of Mao?  "Social Democrats" indeed.

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 08:55 | 6766778 NoDebt
NoDebt's picture

We should just go back to having kings and emperors so we can dispense with this ridiculous and obvious fiction of representative democracy.  

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 09:06 | 6766817 Reichstag Fire Dept.
Reichstag Fire Dept.'s picture

*re brands self as Anarcho Monarchist*

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 09:12 | 6766830 Berspankme
Berspankme's picture

Like king putt?

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 09:02 | 6766806 Devotional
Devotional's picture

Incorrect, constitutionally the President will have to accept the new government shaped by socialists/communists.

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 09:28 | 6766874 portuguese man-...
portuguese man-of-war's picture

Constitutionally the President does not have to accept the new government. The question is political, not constitutional.

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 09:04 | 6766807 Ghordius
Ghordius's picture

the president of Portugal is not elected by the people (or by electors) as in the US. he is, as in something like 20 other european constitutional republics, selected by super-majority by Parliament

yes, he still has the power of making several proposals of government to Parliament. like the exiting gov (Coehlo) or the technical gov he selected for the period between Parliament dissolving and the new Parliament being elected and starting business (in this case... Coehlo, again) and he made a proposal involving... Coehlo

the european Left has spent a lot of ink writing that selecting Coehlo is a slap in the face to the "obvious" results of social democrats, socialist and communists having won a majority of the seats

nevertheless, it's exactly how the President has to behave if he follows the constitution and the historical precedent

now those unlikely political bedfellows have their chance of setting up a majority and form their government... IF they can

if they cannot find the numbers... it's either a minority government headed by Coehlo, or a coalition between the conservatives and the socialists (hear the communists shriek) or the President follows the constitution, disbands this Parliament and calls again for elections

Portugal had a revolution, not that long ago. Portugal has a quite serious, modern and sensible constitution. It's there to read, in several languages

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 09:25 | 6766870 portuguese man-...
portuguese man-of-war's picture

Ghordius,

(I always appreciate your comments but,) the President of Portugal is elected by the people in universal elections, and he has the power to dissolve the parliament (except on the 6 months starting the term and 6 months before he finishes the term - which is this case).

The name of the current PM is Coelho, not Coehlo ...not that would make a difference. of course.

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 09:32 | 6766892 Ghordius
Ghordius's picture

+1, right you are, and a welcome correction. I wish we had more people correcting such things, here on ZH

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 10:54 | 6767263 Man Who Was Thursday
Man Who Was Thursday's picture

This is not a Coup, however tense the situation seems. This is being resolved internally and I don't think we would look too kindly to outside interference. It would only serve to unified opposing parties.

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 11:19 | 6767407 Haus-Targaryen
Haus-Targaryen's picture

So Ghordo trying to correct me got corrected in his correction. 

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 11:46 | 6767549 Ghordius
Ghordius's picture

the path to verifiable truth. are you... interested in truth? your generation of Americans is truly near impossible to understand for me

but in general America is getting more and more difficult to understand, and it's not only me saying that

as if a djinn could appear, offer three wishes... and not even understand what those wishes are, except for vague doom-like scenarios

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 11:35 | 6767494 raios_parta
raios_parta's picture

Portugal has a comunist constitution, that forces the state to provide everything to everyone from cradle to coffin. It was written by the Marxists after the revolution.They made sure it cam't ever be changed by the people under any cicunstance, only by a 75% majority in the parliament, which is the same as to say it can't be changed. So the law that is there to limit the state can only be changed by the politicians. Nice one. The content of the constittution is ridiculous. You have probably never read it, have you? Everything is a right to everyone. A house, etc..

 

 

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 11:47 | 6767559 Ghordius
Ghordius's picture

the one I studied in the 80's does not seem to be the one you seem to have been reading

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 12:33 | 6767822 raios_parta
raios_parta's picture

That's the one alright.

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 14:27 | 6768519 Perfecthedge
Perfecthedge's picture

I have read and studied our Portuguese Constitution and this guy has had too much Vinho Verde today. Ignore him Ghordius. Your statement above is correct.

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 12:31 | 6767802 Vlad the Inhaler
Vlad the Inhaler's picture

No middle ground anymore....either corrupt Fasvism or....corrupt Socialism.  exactly what's happening here in America.  How did we get to the point of a Trump vs Sanders scenario, facsism vs socialism again just like Europe pre WWII.  We let the corporations take over the government and the media.

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 09:58 | 6767021 Noplebian
Noplebian's picture

It's all going nicely to plan......

http://beforeitsnews.com/conspiracy-theories/2015/11/666-is-upon-us-the-...

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 10:06 | 6767062 terry44
terry44's picture
The migrant crisis is by far the biggest factor in the imminent collapse of the EU.
Mon, 11/09/2015 - 08:41 | 6766744 Devotional
Devotional's picture

Listen, I live in Portugal - this place is borderline communist with 20% supporting Karl Marx policies.

Portugal's people want and desire socialism/communist leaning policies.

Pathetic is a word that describes this place very well.

Portugal <3 Commies.

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 08:46 | 6766754 VinceFostersGhost
VinceFostersGhost's picture

 

 

Standing in line for toilet paper yet?

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 08:57 | 6766785 negative rates
negative rates's picture

You know those leafs are good for at least one thing, no shortage this time of year either, hint: soak um in water first

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 09:00 | 6766798 Devotional
Devotional's picture

Dude, we will be using sand paper.

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 10:33 | 6767169 WillyGroper
WillyGroper's picture

@Devotional,

More likely, we'll all be using this.

http://bookofjoe.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341c5dea53ef0134814148bf970c-pi

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 08:53 | 6766766 NoDebt
NoDebt's picture

Nothing can stop the FSA.  And it's a worldwide phenomenon.

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 08:56 | 6766779 Ghost of PartysOver
Ghost of PartysOver's picture

The FSA will open a huge can of whoopass on the MIC in the US and Russia combined.  The world is spinning out of control.  And fast too.  But still a ways off before the stuff gets real.

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 09:06 | 6766816 negative rates
negative rates's picture

What's that light at the end of the tunnel? Why it's the love train.

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 10:34 | 6767173 WillyGroper
WillyGroper's picture

Pahleeese,

The FSA doesn't even know what the MIC is.

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 09:17 | 6766843 22winmag
22winmag's picture

Free Shitters Without Borders!

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 11:17 | 6767391 11b40
11b40's picture

And why is that?  Why is the FSA growing all around the world?  Could it possibly be that the wealth has become so concentrated that those in the lower bounds of societies have been made dependent on free shit for survival?  Could it be that technology is eliminating JOBS so fast that passing out "free" shit is the only way to keep consumption high enough to please the multi-national corps & bankers who run the world?  Could it be that most of us are slowly becoming useless eaters?

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 12:05 | 6767664 BarkingCat
BarkingCat's picture

That's a part of it.
The other part is - what you feed grows.
Governments in the West feed the FSA a rather
healthy diet. Only a small percentage of people is
highly self motivated. Majority will only do what is necessary
to survive. If they can survive by getting free shit
from the government then that is the extent of their efforts.
These people will have offspring that they will
pass their "wisdom" onto.

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 08:54 | 6766772 TeamDepends
TeamDepends's picture

What a shame, such great surfing.

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 08:58 | 6766790 sbn
sbn's picture

Where in Portugal do you live? On Avante Festival?

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 10:30 | 6767162 Perfecthedge
Perfecthedge's picture

I live in Portugal too and pathetic describes you as well. If you are not happy: leave! We will be quite happy without people like you. Don't worry Portugal can handle this. We have been handling shit for the past 500 years and actually doing pretty well.

I hope that the Goldman Sachs-whore-shippers in this country get kicked hard by the communists. Enough of Durão Burroso and his cronies. Enough of Espirito Santo-Mafia-Clan. The winds are changing, or so I hope.

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 11:01 | 6767298 Man Who Was Thursday
Man Who Was Thursday's picture

+1

He can simply fuck off. Commies as they are, they're trying to kick some bankster's ass, so they're on my team.

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 11:15 | 6767382 raios_parta
raios_parta's picture

Anyone with a half a brain that doesn't have an untouchable pension has already left. Portugal is in demographic decline and there will be no one to support the pensioners in a few years. In 2009, the social welfare contributions only covered 12% of the state pension liabilities. You are going down much faster than you think.

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 18:37 | 6769711 HugoMorao95
HugoMorao95's picture

Cronies like Guterres and Socrates?

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 18:37 | 6769712 HugoMorao95
HugoMorao95's picture

Cronies like Guterres and Socrates?

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 11:04 | 6767309 ASACJon
ASACJon's picture

There was a conflict between communist Bolshevism and the Third Position some decades ago...

The good guys lost and now we have moronic skinny-jeans freaks running around as the low grade rabble to push for the latest and greatest in culture-less collectivism. 

But I take issue with one thing that I see often in these debates: Suggesting that the EU is a 'fascist' system opposed to a quasi social democratic movement of poor, innocent indebted PIIGS is a complete false narrative.

The current economic model in the EU is sort of a sterile plutocratic capitalistic socialistic hybrid that...

  • keeps the lion's share of production for a very select few (interlocking corporate boards, etc.) who have no sense of the noblesse oblige, or even have an inverted sense of cruel entitlement to plunder
  • forbids any authentic culture/connection with the past (so we get minimalist and degenerate art/culture)
  • it lacks any coherant purpose but to compel people to act as clinical (and atomistic) economic units of exchange (pure consumerism.)

Fascism is a manufactured term that can describe a number of approaches to national, political, and economic organized integration.  As the ANTIFA ilk use it, anyone who has a sense connection with his ancestors, sees life as something more than just consuming grades of hedonics, and values any order (e.g., objective truth, sense of moral virtue, national identity, transcendent purpose, etc.) is a problem to be expunged.  Note, I am being exceptionally kind in describing these ANTIFA folk.

I would suggest to ZH readers/poster that before using the term fascist as a pejorative, or even at all, research its origin.  And, more importantly, research the approaches that made up Third Position economics.   

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 14:36 | 6768569 general ambivalent
general ambivalent's picture

Well said, there is an aspect of democratic ideology that seeks to bring in the opposition and convert them to a neutral doctrine of decentralised government. This is effectively the precursor to socialism and progressive reformism. Socialists are largely a pathological extreme of this democratic politics of conversion.

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 08:45 | 6766751 Took Red Pill
Took Red Pill's picture

short cork

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 08:48 | 6766757 THE DORK OF CORK
THE DORK OF CORK's picture

What's the bet they will also accept the bankers monopoly of credit.

Socialists and communists are used as agents of further centralization by the forces of financial capital.

We now have100s of years of historical evidence for this. 

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 08:49 | 6766758 WOD
WOD's picture

Mob Rule is what real democracy looks like asshats!

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 08:59 | 6766787 Johnbrown
Johnbrown's picture

"...Like the European socialists, anarchists love secession. Unlike them, we love it out of principle. We love secession because it weakens the state. The state is nothing without a sizable geographic territory under its monopolistic command. Therefore, anarchists want a world of progressively smaller and smaller states, until the day that each individual is sovereign in his or her own right. So, when anarchists observe what is happening in Europe, they might ask themselves “Should we support the socialists’ efforts to secede? Should we support them even though we know their dastardly motivations? Should we support them, even though we know that if they succeed people who live in those regions will enjoy less freedom?” This is the key question that I will explore in this essay. To abstract and rephrase it: Which is preferable? A state of large geographic size that is largely laissez-faire or a geographically small state that is more interventionist? When faced with a choice between the two, which should anarchists prefer?

The question is critical because if anarchists ever hope to bring about a stateless world, we will need to think about how to deal with the existing state..."

http://anarchiststandard.com/2015/10/the-path-to-liberty-developing-an-a...

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 09:40 | 6766935 Ghordius
Ghordius's picture

that anarchists love secession is easy to believe, but socialists? why that? further, what has secession to do with this article? exiting the eurozone isn't "secession"

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 12:15 | 6767712 BarkingCat
BarkingCat's picture

It is from the European Central Bank.
However until a government can function on its tax collections it will never be truly free, no matter what
currency they use.

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 08:49 | 6766759 ToSoft4Truth
ToSoft4Truth's picture

Olive complexion?

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 08:49 | 6766761 Atomizer
Atomizer's picture

Another example of Socialists caught in the Ponzi scheme wealth transfer. This makes my day. 

Thanks Tyler. 

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 08:53 | 6766764 Sergeiab
Sergeiab's picture

It's been a long time since an election disrupted the big agenda (I don't have any example in mind). They will probably suffer the same fate as Greece.

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 08:52 | 6766765 i_call_you_my_base
i_call_you_my_base's picture

Like all of these events in the past, either you prepare to drop the euro or you have no leverage.

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 08:57 | 6766780 VinceFostersGhost
VinceFostersGhost's picture

 

 

Cliff Notes version: “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”  -  Margaret Thatcher

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 09:11 | 6766829 negative rates
negative rates's picture

We ran out when we couldn't find the other people money, so we adopted Ceasers approach and reinterpreted the bible to suit our needs, those drugs can get expensive.

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 09:29 | 6766876 Usurious
Usurious's picture

“The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's debt-based fiat (joo bucks).”

fixed it..........

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 10:36 | 6767186 WillyGroper
WillyGroper's picture

Yet she had no problem with corporate socialism & pedophilia.

FFS

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 08:53 | 6766769 Ghordius
Ghordius's picture

"Well, it can probably be "stable" domestically, but don't think for a second that Brussels and Berlin are going to put up with this."

this is... only a very small part of the thing. how about London and New York? Or Frankfurt, Milan, Madrid, Paris?

historically the most difficult "political marriages" between parties forming coalitions were always between Socialists and Communists, or any variation of the theme of "soft left" and "hard left"

those two parties have still to prove that they can form a coalition, and so houst Coehlo's government in forming. meaning that they have to find common points, first

and that thing about the EUR is way less a common point then balanced budgets are. popcorn, anybody?

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 08:57 | 6766784 Devotional
Devotional's picture

Listen, PS will form government and the relevant documents have been signed and confirmed. Confirmed, repeat that 3 times and stop acting as if this is not going to happen. The current government will fall this week. Popcorn? This is going ahead. It's a pseudo-coalitian in black and white.

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 11:20 | 6767361 raios_parta
raios_parta's picture

And the so called left cohalition will last a couple of months, before they  start going for each other throats. Just wait untill the first demands for each of them are shot down by Brussels.

 

But a true left wing government, Venezuela style, is what Portugal deserves and should get. Pity there's no oil to allow the game to last a few years.

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 09:03 | 6766809 samjam7
samjam7's picture

Why, bankers want their money back, for sure, but in this crisis it's all about preserving the Euro and the status quo without losing face and I think Brussels and Berlin, maybe Paris to a less extent, stand to lose the most.

Bankers will find ways to squeeze the money out of Portugal one way or another, don't forget they always win. But the potential political loss is not quantifiable, the work of 50 years integration is at stake here.

I agree with you in that a coalition between Communists and Socialists will be unstable but when comfronted with the likes of Schäuble and Lagarde they may actually overcome their differences. Remember Syriza and the Greek Nationalists also formed a coalition and they had but one unifying theme!

A black swan indeed! 

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 09:16 | 6766838 Ghordius
Ghordius's picture

too simplistic for my taste. the first German governments after WWI had a way worse problem with "foreigners asking for money", be it "back" or not

fiddling with currencies did not help them, either. btw, you are talking about "50 years of integration at stake" in a very strange manner, imho

are we talking about Portugal leaving the NATO? the EU? no. here, we talk about some parliamentarians which do not have the numbers to exit the EUR

an ugly duckling of uncertain colour, imho

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 09:16 | 6766841 negative rates
negative rates's picture

Popcorn, coalitions, proof, common points, um I love the smell of hypocrisy in the morning.

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 08:54 | 6766771 headhunt
headhunt's picture

The bigger problem is all of these socialist/communist countries are running out of other peoples money which is why they are on the hell train of 'climate change'.

The meme of 'climate change' is in fact world wide socialism/communism by theft. They will tax each and every one of us to support their shit hole country and belief system.

Fuck them all.

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 08:58 | 6766788 VinceFostersGhost
VinceFostersGhost's picture

 

 

::: dove clap :::

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 08:58 | 6766789 Batman11
Batman11's picture

In the old world many of our elite are descendents of psychopathic, feudal war lords who got most of their money and land by killing people and stealing their land and wealth.

 

Taking from them seems very reasonable.

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 09:17 | 6766844 negative rates
negative rates's picture

Taking it back seems even more reasonable.

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 10:46 | 6767217 shovelhead
shovelhead's picture

So, basically, you're advocating changing warlords...

That sounds very er, progressive.

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 10:27 | 6767150 headhunt
headhunt's picture

So if a relative of yours murdered someone a 100 years ago, you should spend the rest of your life paying restitution to the family of the victim.

 

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 08:55 | 6766775 samjam7
samjam7's picture

While communism won't solve their problems I'm glad that democracy may prevail after all. Announcing Coelho as the Prime Minister was nothing short of antidemocratic of the Portuguese president and it should not be tolerated not by the Socialists and much less by the people.

Whether the Portuguese have the guts to actually leave the Euro down the road (something the Greeks up until now arguably don't have) is a different question and it's what it comes down to for the real crisis to break out. If anything, more bad news from Portugal will help to further disenchant the already disenchanted northern Europeans about the EU project and accelarate its demise. One has to be really blind to still think this project may actually work for the benefit of the people.

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 08:59 | 6766792 Devotional
Devotional's picture

Coelho won the election for crying out loud, what the socialists and communists are doing is outright scandalous. You read articles that were misleading of what really has happened here. Coelho won the election, the coalition centre/right won the election for fucks sakes man ;)

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 09:09 | 6766823 samjam7
samjam7's picture

Haha, I am guessing you wanted Coelho to win and while my political convictions are probably closer algined with Coelho than with Costa, from my understanding of European Parliamentary democracies the coalition with most seats appoints the prime minister.

I have heard, however, that the plan to work with the Communists in a coalition wasn't communicated clearly before the elections, which of course can be seen as misleading voters. Well in case there are new elections in spring you can chastise Costa.

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 09:36 | 6766907 rita
rita's picture

Coelho has done nothing but lied to the portuguese people and much more so, he destroyed the middle class and the poor are ever more and poorer.

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 08:57 | 6766781 PeeramidIdeologies
PeeramidIdeologies's picture

Damned if they do and damned if they don't.

I wonder how those "firemen" they were hiring are making out over there. 4 years of university paying off yet?

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 08:57 | 6766782 Gumbum
Gumbum's picture

Overthrow government? Slightly dramatic headline don't you think?

Where I'm from we call it voting....

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 08:59 | 6766793 adonisdemilo
adonisdemilo's picture

HELLO ESCUDO, LONG TIME NO SEE, WE REALLY MISSED YOU.

IS THIS IS A STEP TO SHUTTING DOWN THE EUROPEAN NIGHTMARE OR IS THAT JUST MY DREAM?

I CAN ONLY HOPE IT'S GOODBYE TO BRUSSELS SPENDTHRIFT SOCIALIST WELFARE STUPIDITY.

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 09:34 | 6766902 rita
rita's picture

Yes , hello escudo! It was better then!

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 11:08 | 6767337 raios_parta
raios_parta's picture

Was it? I am not so sure. Can you live with losing almost all your purchasing power of foreign goods? The escudo would be worth nothing in a matter of hours. No one but rich people would be able to afford petrol or Diesel, or anythign imported. It will happen one way or the other though, but make no mistake, your living standards will go back 20 or 30 years in very little time.

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 09:00 | 6766801 Lex_Luthor
Lex_Luthor's picture

This will lead to a disaster. Europe already ran out of bailout money...

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 09:01 | 6766803 Batman11
Batman11's picture

It’s different in the old world.

In the old world many of our elite are descendents of psychopathic, feudal war lords who got most of their money and land by killing people and stealing their land and wealth.

Most of the land in the UK is still owned by these people and their old money fortunes are still there.

If it wasn’t made this way, it was usually the proceeds of some crime against humanity like slavery and colonialism.

Taking from them seems very reasonable.

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 09:19 | 6766846 negative rates
negative rates's picture

Taking it back seems EVEN MORE reasonable.

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 09:24 | 6766861 MoHillbilly
MoHillbilly's picture

Please explain to me the difference between fuedal lords (gov) taking resources and using them as they see fit, and modern govs doing the same

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 09:58 | 6767016 Batman11
Batman11's picture

If Government's killed you and took your property, land and wealth they would be the same.

 

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 10:02 | 6767041 MoHillbilly
MoHillbilly's picture

So if they let you live in servitude it's all good ?   Got It

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 10:04 | 6767047 Batman11
Batman11's picture

Most classical economists differentiated between earned and unearned wealth.

Adam Smith:

“The Labour and time of the poor is in civilised countries sacrificed to the maintaining of the rich in ease and luxury. The Landlord is maintained in idleness and luxury by the labour of his tenants. The moneyed man is supported by his extractions from the industrious merchant and the needy who are obliged to support him in ease by a return for the use of his money. But every savage has the full fruits of his own labours; there are no landlords, no usurers and no tax gatherers.”

To Adam Smith, the Government was as parasitic as the idle landlord and the banker that creates money out of nothing.

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 09:03 | 6766808 Reichstag Fire Dept.
Reichstag Fire Dept.'s picture

The EU's  story would be better titled,  "Europe's  Socialists Get a Lesson in Economics" as they find out, you really do run out of other people's money.

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 09:22 | 6766857 silverer
silverer's picture

Doesn't it make you want to stand in front of each of these people and ask the obvious question: Where's the money going to come from?  I'd like to hear the answers myself.

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 10:48 | 6767234 crashguru
crashguru's picture

Our "money" comes from central banks, how did you avoid this information while reading ZH?

All they need is a CB and start printing....

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 10:00 | 6767032 Ghordius
Ghordius's picture

and the eurozone's story would be better titled: "trying to have balanced budgets", with the choice of subtitles "while the Left shrieks" and "while the UK and US beat around the bush"

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 16:01 | 6768974 tsuki
tsuki's picture

Especially if you are a bankster gangster.  And when you run out, you print, print, print.

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 09:04 | 6766812 Give up. Realit...
Give up. Reality is not scientific nor even mathematical.'s picture

Yeah, yeah, yeah, but...  Portugal legalized all dope!  Holy shit!  That says something about their Internet-trolling Libertarian proclivities.  They're all regular Ron Paul fans in Portugal, legal dope and all that...  Hooray for Portugal, right???

The truth is, in Portugal, dope has been decriminalized and turned into a mental health problem.  If you're part of the drug culture in barefoot Portugal, your name goes onto the "asshole" list with all the other such mental defectives, and a social worker is appointed to keep close tabs on you because you're not to be trusted even to wipe your own ass.

DOPE IS FOR DUMMIES.  And now tiny little barefoot Portugal is now for socialist dummies too.

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 09:20 | 6766848 Atomizer
Atomizer's picture

Hence, legalizing marijuana to keep United States of America high. They'll not know what hit them. 

Bank financing parties are shitting bricks. Hillary is reaching out to 2% market on feminist vote. Hillary will never make the grade of Margaret Thatcher

Hillary is a lying cunt, Bill Clinton is hoping to be the First Pediphile dude of the White House. 

She has no chance, the FBI is going forward. Hint. 

 

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 10:40 | 6767197 WillyGroper
WillyGroper's picture

>>>>the FBI is going forward

You mean like they did in the Franklin cover-up?

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 09:22 | 6766855 negative rates
negative rates's picture

You know those social workers have visibly missing teeth.

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 09:32 | 6766890 rita
rita's picture

Sorry, i am portuguese and i live in the country. Really where do you get your information from?

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 10:43 | 6767210 Perfecthedge
Perfecthedge's picture

He is on dope and high. Leave him Rita, save your time.

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 16:00 | 6768964 tsuki
tsuki's picture

The Ministry of Portuguese Demonizing.  I lived there for two years and found the people warm, happy, welcoming, hard working, well educated and family oriented, but now that Schaüble has a chance for a new "political crisis" so that he can reshape the EU into the rulers and the ruled as per his 1994 Manifesto, expect a lot more of this. 

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 09:16 | 6766832 silverer
silverer's picture

I'm actually beginning to think that maybe the Muslims are the only ones that can make Europe work, because so far its been fail, fail, fail.  They'd better go and slap that asshole in the mirror before it's too late!

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 09:24 | 6766865 negative rates
negative rates's picture

And those maintenance free make up kits are a gas too.

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 09:14 | 6766833 buzzsaw99
buzzsaw99's picture

The Socialist-led program “is clearly less market-friendly...

There is no fucking market. The maggots are the biggest commies on the planet.

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 09:20 | 6766849 22winmag
22winmag's picture

Another sad, defeated nation acting like a sad, defeated nation.

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 09:25 | 6766868 garlll
garlll's picture

I'm portuguese and the problem with portugal is corruption and the population, they are sheeps that want to live with the money of EU, the minimum age is 500 euros and to rent a house is 250 euros, the food is more expensive that in france or spain the electricity 50 euros, etc.. To go to an hospital is the same to go to a slaughterhouse , 3 to 6 hours to be seen by the doctor for the triage, to .work in portugal is the same than work in china but without the privileges, etc. Portugal is 3 worl country that thinks is european.

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 10:23 | 6767130 Escapedgoat
Escapedgoat's picture

Welcome to the Club.

  Alongside the Greeks, Italians (mostly southerners), Spanish and French, We shouldn't forget the poor old Irish either,  that emigrated to parts foreign.

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 09:29 | 6766880 Buenaventura
Buenaventura's picture

Except the left 'coalition' did not go to elections as a coalition. They went as separate parties, in fact, at the time, they publicly declared they had no plans to form such a coalition! The party that was eventually appointed as government were the most voted.

Its very popular these days to imagine germany plotting behind everything. Same as it was back in the day the emminent soviet invasion that would overrun western europe.

 

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 10:25 | 6767139 raios_parta
raios_parta's picture

Exactly, and they're still not a cohalition. They have no agreement between themselves in place that would allow a stable government. 

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 09:48 | 6766970 Phillyguy
Phillyguy's picture

As repeatedly pointed out in lead up to the Greek financial implosion, Greece has plenty of economic “relatives” in the EU, including Portugal, Spain, Italy and France- all plagued with stagnant/declining economies, high unemployment coupled with anemic job growth, austerity, increasing poverty and exploding deficits. Unfortunately, the EU/ECB has no solution to the structural economic problems confronting Portugal and other countries in similar financial condition. Expect: i) ECB to ferociously fight any “haircuts” to Portuguese sovereign debt and ii) should these efforts fail, don’t be surprised if the Portuguese financial elite and military, along with the ECB resort to bringing back fascism, as occurred in Italy, Germany and Portugal in the early 20th century. It may well turn out that Greece was the proverbial canary in the coal mine, signaling the beginning of the end for the Euro project.

 

Links: www.britannica.com/biography/Antonio-de-Oliveira-Salazar; www.globalresearch.ca/overthrowing-fascism-portugal-and-the-right-to-rebellion/5378874

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 11:18 | 6767120 raios_parta
raios_parta's picture

Just to correct an error in this article. There's no left coalition at all. There are 3 parties, that hate each other guts since they became parties and can't agree on anything, that together have a majority. The president made no mistake in giving the government to Passos Coelho, because the left has not shown any proof of agreement that allows him to appoint a left government. They still haven't. Either way, the parties in question range from the socialists, which previous leader is in jail (think PASOK stile of corruption), the communists, a Marxist/Leninist anti-democratic party, and the left block, a Trokstist caviar left fulll of young hipocrites (ever heard of anti-capitalists that invest in the stock market?). Either way, Portugal is in shit and there's only one way left, further down into shit. These guys want to thrown down the government, if the Socialists see fit (which is not guaranteed, because they know everything they are proposing as a government program will be shot down straight away by Brussles). These guys wouldn't even endure 30 minutes of the water boarding Tsyripsas endured. They'd come back with a nice package of austerity, which Portugal desperatly needs, in no time.

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 10:23 | 6767133 andrewp111
andrewp111's picture

So, the President appoints another government that is unacceptable to the majority, and after that one is voted down, another, etc... until the 6 month clock runs out and new elections are held.

Nothing to see here, move along.  The only real EU Black Swan on the horizon is the 2017 elections in big EU countries - France, Italy, Germany.

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 10:26 | 6767142 yogibear
yogibear's picture

Watch for the ECB technocrats. The ECB usually removes the elected leader and install their own guy.

It's the banksters running the countries, not the people.

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 10:59 | 6767288 crashguru
crashguru's picture

The Catalonian parliament just voted for independence. It is getting really interesting in Europe. The fascists in Brussel must come up with another blackmail.

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 11:17 | 6767389 Ghordius
Ghordius's picture

you mean Madrid, not Brussel. Last time I looked, most of the Catalonian secessionists want to break free from Spain, not the EU

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 12:02 | 6767642 piratepiet2
piratepiet2's picture

hey Ghordius,

http://econ.sciences-po.fr/exceptional-conference-jens-weidmann-presiden...

This appears to be fully booked, not a problem you can't solve though.   

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 11:04 | 6767313 shovelhead
shovelhead's picture

Portugals different parties would get along much better if they could only borrow more money.

Borrowing money makes everyone happy.

Seriously.

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 11:14 | 6767373 ILike2Watch
ILike2Watch's picture

Ok, so now I'm confused.....

Everyone on this board wants the crony capitalists gone, but, doesn't want the "socialists" (way too broad a term/group btw) to be in power, even though they are the ones that will get this "fixed". 

To fix anything you need to get the root cause corrected. Root cause of the worlds issue right now is Keynesianomics and global "house wins" gambling called the stock market. Remove the market, the high incentives to milk it.  Let the current system "tank" and lets try something new....

 

The problem with "Capiitalsim" is you eventually run out of money for them to steal......

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 11:25 | 6767438 NoTTD
NoTTD's picture

Although the Black Swan often circles, it rarely lands.

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 11:57 | 6767617 morning
morning's picture

I hate to say I told you, but hey, I also live in Portugal, I predicted this shitstorm back in 2007, and yes the problem is neither political nor constitutional - it's genetic, because some freak accident of nature tweaked "our" genes 4 centuries ago turning the territory into a colossal barren, radioactive plot of infertile ground where every man and his dog wake up back in the USSR still moist from their ostentatious, fuck-thy-neighbor wet dreams. 

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 02:23 | 6771183 onmail1
onmail1's picture

Vox crony vox dei

This has become the new form of democracy.

The crony capitalists have murdered the true democracy by funding elections for politicians.

And now politicians work for only crony capitalists.

The people are realizing this all over the world.

And so people are turning left.

It seems strange , but true, and unbelievable 

That the world may turn leftist & throw these bastards out who are bed fellows with each other, scratching each others back, fleecing the public , the real owners of the nation.

Do NOT follow this link or you will be banned from the site!