Portugal: The authoritarian position of the political right

27 de November 2015 - 20:45

What will the Portuguese Left do if the Right keeps strengthening its authoritarianism while contesting, at the same time, the current political system in the very same moment we’re on the offensive? By Ricardo Cabral Fernandes.

porRicardo Cabral Fernandes

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Nikias Skapinakis "Landscape - Portuguese Flag"

The austerity answer from the political European elites to the economic and financial crisis led to a whole new phenomenon within the European continent.  In one hand, we watched the far-left increase their votes and parliamentary representation. On the other hand, we also watched the far-right form new governments and PSread, at the same time, the terror in the European streets, be it against citizens or immigrants and refugees.

However, if there is an obvious absence of words from the European elites concerning the rise of fascism, the same doesn’t apply to the rise of the far-left. To the latter, all guns are pointed at it, whether it may be the tools of ideological domination, like the media, e.g., or the tools hold by the governments and European institutions, like the financial coup against the Greek government before the referenda took place. The fear is the main feeling to be spread within the labour class and disobedience will always be punished.

When the rules of the liberal-democracy allow the rise of the far-left, we easily watch the Right taking an authoritarian posture, by using, at the same time, twisted arguments about the concrete reality. 

When the rules of the liberal-democracy allow the rise of the far-left, we easily watch the Right taking an authoritarian posture, by using, at the same time, twisted arguments about the concrete reality. It isn’t a national happening, but an European one, not to mention a global one too. It has been that way in Greece and in Spain against Podemos or in Portugal against the Left Bloc and the Portuguese Communist Party.  For the political right, the liberal-democracy is only acceptable when the parties defending the interests of the elites are in Power, but when a party that defends the labour class takes into perPSective the possibility of taking Power in a constitutional way and not revolutionary way, the political system becomes an obstacle and the only solution, for the political right, is to transform it or reduce it to its mere existence taking away its meaning. The right liberal-democratic falls to reveal its true colours: the authoritarianism and the disrespect for the current political system. Keeping themselves in power is their most absolute desire, independently of the resources or arguments they may use. The Portuguese case is paramount in explaining what I just described.

4.10.2015: The parliamentary elections in Portugal

The results of the parliamentary elections in Portugal on the 4th of October meant a harsh coup for the right political parties, CDS-PP and PSD. If, a year ago, the political elites and the media expected a great defeat of the Right in these elections, as the months went by and as the elections came closer and the polls were released, the Right coalition started to be more confident in its victory and in the absolute majority in the parliament that would allow them to remain in Power.

The current President of the Republic Anibal Cavaco Silva, one of the main political figures of the Portuguese right, invited the coalition to form its government even when he knew that it wouldn’t survive the voting of the government programme in the parliament.

The night of the 4th of October, however, destroyed that dream. The coalition won the elections in terms of votes and mandates but lost in political terms. In minority in a parliament dominated by parties that support the idea of breaking with austerity without any possibility of negotiation, the coalition preferred to stick to power, even without the possibility of approving any measures that would perpetuate the usual impoverishment of the labour in favour of the capitalist class. The current President of the Republic Anibal Cavaco Silva, one of the main political figures of the Portuguese right, invited the coalition to form its government even when he knew that it wouldn’t survive the voting of the government programme in the parliament.

While the right presented itself as the next Portuguese government, the Socialist Party (PS), the Left Bloc (LB) and the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP) started the negotiations to create a minority government of the PS supported by the rest of the parties in the parliament based on a restrict deal that impedes the rise of taxes against the working class, the easing of the labour market and cuts in wages and pensions. Beyond the irrePSonsible invitation to form government, Cavaco Silva also started a strong attack against the PS and the Portuguese Left, defending that the LB and PCP didn’t respect the guidelines of the Portuguese regime: the continuation in the Eurozone, in the European Union and in NATO.  It was the first time in history that a President tried to stop the formation of governments by parties who don’t revise themselves in the life-long austerity of the Eurozone or in NATO’s imperialism. A case without any precedents happened in Portuguese history.

When the Right Government presented its programme to the parliament to be voted, the anti-austerity majority, defeated it beating the record of shortest government since the 25th of November, when the right did a military coup to break the revolutionary period in Portugal. There was a polarisation in the political speech between the Left and the Right and in the Portuguese society like never before.

When the Right Government presented its programme to the parliament to be voted, the anti-austerity majority, defeated it beating the record of shortest government since the 25th of November, when the right did a military coup to break the revolutionary period in Portugal. There was a polarisation in the political speech between the Left and the Right and in the Portuguese society like never before.

Τhe arguments of the Right against the formation of government by the PS and the Left

The Portuguese Right didn’t see this happening as a defeat and used all its ideological mechanisms, like the media and other arguments to attack the formation of government constituted by the PS and supported by the Left. During these attacks, many arguments were used even if they were not concrete. These arguments can be divided into three axes: 

In the first axis, the deal between PS, Left Bloc and PCP, the political right used two arguments based in the supposed immorality and lack of political legitimacy: 1) electoral fraud, that is, the PS and the Left wanted to subvert the electoral results, transform a defeat into a victory, by creating a “negative” majority (?) in the parliament; 2) the immorality of the deal between the PS and the Left by the fact that in any circumstances these parties didn’t mention the possibility of making a deal after the elections; 3) the perspective that this deal would put in jeopardy the structural axis of the Portuguese political regime that the Right conceives as fundamental: the continuation in the EU and Eurozone and NATO. These three arguments show a great political and intellectual dishonesty. In what concerns the first argument, the Right chose to ignore the simple fact that the results of the elections elected the parliament and with that, accordingly, the President invites the leader of the party with the best results or ability to form and lead a government taking into account the possibility to form coalitions or parliamentary deals. So, having this fact in mind, in the Portuguese constitution, the President would be respecting the constitution if he invited the PS to form government, the latter having the political legitimacy to govern with the parliament support of the Left. The Right main objective is the change in the perception of the electorate towards the operation of the elections so to in the current context they can remain in power, adding the entire mediated narrative of “winners” and “losers”.

The Constitution says in the 7th Article “Portugal advocates the abolition of imperialism, colonialism and any other forms of aggression, dominion and exploitation in the relations between peoples”. However, Portugal is still a founding member of NATO in disrespect of its Constitution.

In what concerns the second argument, the Right “forgets” to mention that after the parliament elections in 2011, the PSD and CDS made a post-electoral coalition to form government, not having mentioned, in any political campaign, the possibility of making a post-electoral accord. The Portuguese semi-presidential regime was constructed with the aim of being very difficult to a party itself to govern on its own, creating incentives to make coalitions. At last, the continuation in the Eurozone, EU and NATO aren’t structural pillars of the Portuguese regime, but even if this argument was true, another reality comes in: the accord, at any point, mentions the Eurozone, EU and NATO and how the minority government should take action in these subjects. For instance, the Constitution says in the 7th Article “Portugal advocates the abolition of imperialism, colonialism and any other forms of aggression, dominion and exploitation in the relations between peoples, as well as simultaneous and controlled general disarmament, the dissolution of the political-military blocs and the establishment of a collective security system, with a view to the creation of an international order that is capable of ensuring peace and justice in the relations between peoples”.  However, Portugal is still a founding member of NATO in disrespect of its Constitution. NATO is the political and military instrument of the Portuguese elite in the keeping of its class interests.

The second axis of attack of the Right against the Left was the fail of the government programme of the first towards the latter. In this axis the arguments became more offensive and authoritarian. The first one was based on the “tradition”, that is, that the tradition of having a government based on the most voted party should be respected, having some Right political commentators and jurists defending that this tradition should overrule the Constitution itself. The second one was the parliamentary coup, when the PS and the Left respected all the constitutional mechanisms of the Portuguese political system. The failing of the government programme by the opposition parties happened for the first time but in the past the PSD voted against the government programme by the PS two times. That is, the same arguments they use now have been used by themselves in the past.

That is, with the Left based government, the markets, that almost metaphysical identity, would revolt, jeopardising all the sacrifices the Portuguese had made till then – that is, their deplete – forcing another troika intervention in the country.

At last, in the third axis the arguments were raised to another level. Against the formation of a minority government based on the Left Bloc and PCP, the Right used arguments that revisited the revolutionary period between 1974-76, in which the country was nearly in a civil war, and how this government was in the same direction as an isolated Cuba, to a Stalinist Soviet Union or even North Korea. Besides these anti-communist basic arguments and without any relation to the concrete reality of the Portuguese political situation, the Right also used the spectrum of the troika and the markets, as it did before. That is, with the Left based government, the markets, that almost metaphysical identity, would revolt, jeopardising all the sacrifices the Portuguese had made till then – that is, their deplete – forcing another troika intervention in the country. The objective of this last axis of attack is to remind the emotional guts of the generations of the revolutionary period and leave new scars in today’s generations. The fear is the prevalent feeling in these speeches.

In the last four years the coalition government PSD/CDS disrePSected consequently the Portuguese Constitution. All the State budgets embedded articles that explicitly violated the fundamental law, being stopped by the Constitutional Court countless times.

With the failure of its arguments and seeing the possibility of a minority government formed by the PS and supported by the Left as a likely event, the leader of the PSD and ex-prime-minister, Pedro Passos Coelho, decided to defy Antonio Costa, the PS leader, to make a constitutional review so in the first and last six months of the Presidential mandate the parliament can be dissolved to make new elections. That is what won’t allow, at the very moment, the dissolution of the parliament. The objective is clear: to make elections until the Right wins. If the game is no longer twisted, the rules must be changed then.

The division in Portuguese society

As a consequence of the results of the elections of the 4th of October, of the position of the President of the Republic, of the fall of the coalition government and of the political debate, the Portuguese society finds itself divided as never before since the revolutionary period, 40 years ago.

As a consequence of the results of the elections of the 4th of October, of the position of the President of the Republic, of the fall of the coalition government and of the political debate, the Portuguese society finds itself divided as never before since the revolutionary period, 40 years ago. The fight between classes seems to be stronger, showing once again the true colours of the Portuguese Right: authoritarianism and disrePSect for the current political system.

If the PS forms its government with the parliamentary support of the Left Bloc and of the PCP the challenges will certainly be big, in the national arena against the Right and its ideological mechanisms and in the European arena as well against the elites. But there is a question that must be asked to the Portuguese Left: what will we do if the Right keeps strengthening its authoritarianism while contesting, at the same time, the current political system in the very same moment we’re on the offensive?

This article was originally published in Analyze Greece.

Ricardo Cabral Fernandes
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Ricardo Cabral Fernandes

Mestrando em Ciência Política