Imagine if California Governor Jerry Brown were to resign if Californians vote down elements of his proposed budget plans in the next vote. Imagine if President Obama had resigned because Congress had voted down his "Stimulus Package." Well, Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates did resign after Parliament rejected his budget plan. And only two hours after the vote against it.
The austerity measures, "which included spending cuts and tax rises" were voted down by all five opposition parties. Mr. Socrates' party is the "center-left Socialist Party." This is Portugal's fourth package of austerity measures in a year. Mr. Socrates claimed that the measures proposed were rejected "by the government to prevent that Portugal resort to external aid." I am certain some of you already know about some other countries in the EU who have been undergoing some major financial troubles and who have also requested "external aid" from the EU. That's right, Greece and Ireland. The government of Portugal claims its economic woes are lower than these nations and that its "banks are sound." It has also pointed out that it has "not suffered a bubble in property prices."
Portugal has yet to turn to the EU for external aid. The vote, however, late this Wednesday (Portugal time: approximately 7-8 hours ahead of our time), is on the eve of an EU summit to complete details of a "grand bargain" to hopefully diminish the group's debt burden.
I thought this article was quite interesting because it deals with both government and economics. Thus, here are some questions for thought:
4 comments:
I personally think it's not right of Mr. Socrates to resign because the budget did not work out to his liking. I can understand how frustrating it is especially since "this is Portugal's fourth package of austerity measures in a year" and he has to work with five opposition parties. Especially when all five opponents don't agree with his plan. But a job is a job. It comes with difficulties and not everything will work out perfectly. I don't think it's right that Socrates even said he would resign if his plan was not passed. He should instead keep persevering and try to get at least some parts of his plan approved.
I think Michelle has a very good point. I usually leave comments to others and not myself as the blogger of the article, but I was particularly taken back by this resignation. I think it is not necessary for an official to resign just because things do not work out their way. But perhaps, someone who is willing to give up so easily on the Portuguese government and economy is someone you do not want in office? I have not paid enough attention to Portuguese politics to actually analyze Mr. Socrates' character and accomplishments though (or lack thereof).
I feel like resigning was not the right choice by Mr. Socrates to make, but I also feel like if his budget plan wasn't favored by any of the five parties and that he wanted to give up so easily, that he shouldn't be in office in the first place.
Yes, "a job is a job", and in most cases you should never give up but like Conor asked, would you really want someone who gives up so easily and who maybe isn't the best choice to be in office? I also haven't payed much attention to Portuguese politics to actually analyze Mr. Socrates, but in my opinion I would think someone with more confidence and persistence and maybe even someone with some better views for the budget plan should be in office.
I personally think it is a bit babyish of Ms. Socrates to resign after not getting the package he wanted through. He is only one man, and if all five opposition parties voted against his (and I'm assuming his government's) plan then it either can't have been a very good one or all the opposition parties are conspiring against him. I'm inclined to believe that the former is true, that it simply wasn't a very good plan. In this instance, I believe he should simply listen to what the parliament has decided, because they should be voting for the good of the entire nation. Now, it does seem that Mr. Socrates is very upset over it, and believes that his plan is the best thing for his nation right now. But I think that that stubborn of a man shouldn't be in office. Leadership doesn't mean sticking to your own view no matter what, in my opinion at least. I believe it means listening to all opinions and trying to pick the best one for everyone. Now, clearly, as I just said, Mr. Socrates must have thought that his plan was best. However, I still do not think he should have resigned or threatened to resign in the first place. That was an immature thing to do, in my opinion. Even if he thought that his stimulus package was the best thing for the country and that everything else was wrong, he has more influence from in the government as a leader who just had his view shot down as opposed to someone who has no power but still firmly believes in the stimulus package.
-Alice Bebbington
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