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Portuguese president urges political parties to seek compromise for forming stable gov't

Xinhua, October 7, 2015 Adjust font size:

Portuguese President Anibal Cavaco Silva on Tuesday called on political parties to put aside their differences and seek compromise in order to form a stable government after the center-right ruling coalition led by incumbent Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho won Sunday's parliamentary election.

In a televised address to the nation on Tuesday evening after meeting Passos Coelho in the presidential palace earlier in the day, Cavaco Silva said that he had asked Passos Coelho to evaluate the possibility of forming a stable and lasting government which will ensure the country's political stability.

He urged the political parties to put the interest of the nation in the first place and seek compromise to form a solid and stable government which is crucial for the country's political stability.

He also said that the new government must make efforts in improving people's living standards by promoting economic growth, increasing employment, reducing the national debt and budget deficit as well as strengthening the country's economic competitiveness in the world.

The ruling coalition of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the Popular Party (CDS-PP) have won 104 in the 230-seat parliament in the parliamentary election on Sunday but failed to secure an outright majority with 116 seats to form a stable government.

The Portuguese government has been implementing harsh austerity measures under a 78-billion-euro (about 88 billion U.S. dollars) bailout program it signed with the troika of international lenders, namely the European Commission, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank, in May 2011 and the country succeeded in a clean exit from the bailout three years later.

The country's economy has seen a slow recovery since 2014 with 1.5 percent growth in the first half of this year and the unemployment rate has dropped from a record 17.7 percent in 2013 to 12.3 percent last July. Endit