Off the wire
• China, Russia support resumption of Six-Party Talks, promise more efforts  • British FTSE 100 rises 1.71 pct on Friday  • Fresh fighting forces South Sudanese to flee homes  • Spanish stock market rises 3.69 pct, closes at 9,090 points  • 2nd LD Writethru: Two killed in gunpowder plant fire in central Russia  • Pro-gov't forces advance against Houthis in Yemen's Taiz  • China "strongly unsatisfied" as Dalai Lama invited for human rights activity  • 2 policemen wounded in PKK bomb attack in SE Turkey  • Rhino poaching continues to rise in Africa: study  • Belgium sees sharp drop in asylum applications: report  
You are here: 　 Home

Portuguese president says end of financial crisis possible

Xinhua, March 12, 2016 Adjust font size:

Portuguese newly swearing-in president Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said Friday at the end of a three-day of festivities that overcoming the debt-laden country's financial crisis will be possible.

Rebelo de Sousa on Friday travelled to Porto, the country's second biggest city in the north, which he said was a symbolic city for his ceremony's closure.

"It is symbolic as underlining the national virtues in a period prone to discouragement," he said, received by a round of applause at Porto's municipal council.

"It is a time to talk less about what denigrates us and more about what values us. Portugal needs to be reminded of its courage and tenacity," he added.

Celebrations kicked off on Wednesday when Rebelo de Sousa was sworn in at parliament, promising institutional solidarity with the Portuguese parliament and calling for an end to the financial crisis.

The former TV pundit, professor, and center-right MP won the presidential elections on Jan. 24. Many see him as playing an important role in contributing towards the country's stability after a left wing alliance ousted the previous centre-right government following the Oct. 4 parliamentary election.

Rebelo de Sousa has the power to dissolve parliament and call for fresh elections from next month but he has promised to work for a stable political situation in the country.

The Portuguese Socialist government led by Prime Minister Antonio Costa, and backed by the Left Bloc and Communist Party, is trying to reverse austerity after years of austerity imposed by the centre-right government led by former prime minister Pedro Passos Coelho when the country signed a 78-billion-euro (about 87 billion U.S. dollars) bailout with international creditors in 2011.

Former president Anibal Cavaco Silva stepped down Tuesday after two five-year terms. Endit