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Madeira's former leader defends need for anti-austerity party like Syriza in Portugal

Xinhua, January 28, 2015 Adjust font size:

Madeira's former leader Alberto Joao Jardim defended the need for an anti-austerity party like Greece's Syriza on Tuesday.

"I think it is necessary in Portugal in the center-right or center-left zone for a Syriza to appear, but a non-radical Syriza," said the former leader of the Portuguese island following an audience with Portuguese President Anibal Cavaco Silva at the Belem palace in Lisbon.

His comment came during his official visit to Lisbon on Tuesday, a day after Greece's anti austerity Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras was sworn in as Greece's new prime minister.

Tsipiras, who vowed to end Greece's "pain" and "suffering" after winning the general election and called to renegotiate the international bailout, worth 240 billion euros (about 271 billion U.S. dollars), has been labelled "Europhobic" and "radical."

But Joao Jardim said he opposed austerity without the radicalism embodied by Tsipiras' left-wing party and defended a "credible" approach.

He also admitted the possibility of becoming a member of the Portuguese General Assembly or a candidate for the presidency on Tuesday, according to local media.

He presented his official resignation, ending his 36 years at the helm of the center-right party of the autonomous region, earlier this month.

He had been leader of the Socialist Democratic Party (PSD) in Madeira since March 1978 and elected successively since then. Miguel Albuquerque, a lawyer, was elected as the new leader on Dec. 29. Endit