By Jaime Ortega.
The Social Democratic Prime Minister of Portugal, Pedro Passos Coelho, has made changes in his government, in order to rest aside the political crisis and avoid early elections. During the changes, the Democratic Party, second in the game of the conservative coalition, has won more weight within the Executive branch.
Democrat leader Paulo Portas has ceased to be foreign minister, and has become the deputy prime minister, also responsible for economic policy and its reforms. As a result, the head of the Ministry of Economy, has changed, which leaves the technocrat Alvaro Santos Pereira incharge, replaced by António Pires de Lima, national leader of the CDS and Portas henchman.
The Ministry of Economy is no longer a “mega ministry”, and loses the area of Employment, which will now be encompassed by the Ministry of Social Security Ministry, occupied by fellow Democrat Pedro Mota Soares.
Other changes have occurred in the other “mega ministries” like the one run by Passos Coelho, ministry of Agriculture, from which comes the Environment, which will now handle number 2 Jorge Moreira da Silva from the Social Democratic Party.
On Tuesday, Passos Coelho has submitted the remodeling plans to Anibal Cavaco Silva, who believes the restructuring will prove beneficial. With it, the Portuguese president expects no more crisis within the conservative coalition.
On Sunday, the portuguese chief of state addressed in television and asked the two parties that satisfy the foreign aid program, that ends in June next year, that its intended to carry out new elections. Cavaco Silva chose not to call early elections because he believed that would hurt Portugal more and could force the need for a second bailout.
It was expected that the Troika technicians returned to Portugal on July 15 to begin the eighth periodic evaluation, but the visit was postponed until the crisis is resolved. That assessment depends on delivering another 3,000 million euros and is on the table in the State Reform which includes cuts of close to 4,700 million euros.
