- Feb 5, 2002
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This Forum is a place for respectful discussion and debate of political issues, by Roman Catholics, in the context of the Roman Catholic Faith.
The defeat of Portugal’s Socialist Party and the success of a populist conservative party in the March 10 legislative elections has dramatically shifted the political landscape in the Iberian nation.
The Democratic Alliance, a centrist coalition, elected 79 deputies, two more than it had in the previous legislature. The Socialist Party (PSD), which had 120 parliamentarians, was the election’s loser and elected only 77. However, the conservative party Chega (“Enough”) made huge gains, increasing its seats from 12 to 48.
In its political program, Chega defends the “natural family based on the intimate relationship between a woman and a man,” the authority of parents in the education of their children, the encouragement of birth rates, and the “inviolability of human life in all its phases and dimensions.”
Pedro Vaz Patto, the Catholic chairman of the national Justice and Peace Commission of the Portuguese Episcopal Conference, called for dialogue.
“
In the face of the results, the challenge that arises now is a challenge to have dialogue between the various parties, especially between the two with the most votes,” he said.
Chega’s leader, André Ventura, called his party’s performance the only “growth data from these elections.” He called for the formation of a government with a “clear majority” in Parliament.
“Only a very irresponsible leader and party will let the PSD govern when we have in our hands the possibility of creating a government of change,” he said. The PSD is the ruling party of the incumbent Portuguese government.
Continued below.
www.catholicnewsagency.com
The defeat of Portugal’s Socialist Party and the success of a populist conservative party in the March 10 legislative elections has dramatically shifted the political landscape in the Iberian nation.
The Democratic Alliance, a centrist coalition, elected 79 deputies, two more than it had in the previous legislature. The Socialist Party (PSD), which had 120 parliamentarians, was the election’s loser and elected only 77. However, the conservative party Chega (“Enough”) made huge gains, increasing its seats from 12 to 48.
In its political program, Chega defends the “natural family based on the intimate relationship between a woman and a man,” the authority of parents in the education of their children, the encouragement of birth rates, and the “inviolability of human life in all its phases and dimensions.”
Pedro Vaz Patto, the Catholic chairman of the national Justice and Peace Commission of the Portuguese Episcopal Conference, called for dialogue.
“
In the face of the results, the challenge that arises now is a challenge to have dialogue between the various parties, especially between the two with the most votes,” he said.
Chega’s leader, André Ventura, called his party’s performance the only “growth data from these elections.” He called for the formation of a government with a “clear majority” in Parliament.
“Only a very irresponsible leader and party will let the PSD govern when we have in our hands the possibility of creating a government of change,” he said. The PSD is the ruling party of the incumbent Portuguese government.
Continued below.
Catholic calls for dialogue at ascent of conservatives in Portugal
The conservative party Chega (“Enough”), which ran on a traditional values platform, made huge gains, increasing its seats from 12 to 48.
www.catholicnewsagency.com
