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1st LD writethru: Passos Coelho reappointed as Portuguese PM

Xinhua, October 23, 2015 Adjust font size:

Incumbent Portuguese Prime Minister Passos Coelho was reappointed for a second term on Thursday, two weeks after the ruling coalition led by his party won the general election early this month, though the coalition fell short of an outright majority in parliament.

Coelho got his reappointment in his capacity as the leader of the center-right Social Democratic Party (PSD), which formed the coalition with the Democratic and Social Center-People's Party (CDS-PP), and the ruling parties obtained most votes in the Oct. 4 general election, Portuguese President Anibal Cavaco Silva said in a televised address to the nation.

He said that Portugal will lose what it has gained in the past four years of harsh austerity and face catastrophic consequences if political parties which favor Portugal's withdrawal from the EU and eurozone were given power to form a new government.

Silva expressed his concern over the loss of confidence in Portugal by international financial institutions and foreign investors, adding that the confidence and the credibility of Portugal are crucial for investment and job creation.

According to the Portuguese constitution, the head of state has the power to appoint a prime minister from the party or coalition which had won the general election after consultation with all political parties represented in parliament.

The PSD-CDS-PP coalition, led by Coelho and CDS-PP leader Paulo Portas, won more than 38 percent of votes in the general election, yet it lost the majority in the 230-seat parliament after gaining 107 seats.

The Socialist Party (PS), the Left Bloc and the Portuguese Communist Party won 122 seats.

PS leader Antonio Costa has vowed to use the majority right to quickly bring down the government and take power himself.

Coelho has 10 days to form a new government and then submit a four-year program to the parliament where it needs the majority support. If the program fails to pass, the government faces a possible collapse. Endi