PANAJI
It’s a question of will he or won’t he that is being debated. The he is Portugal Prime Minister Antonio Costa and the speculation in the Portuguese media is the past days is whether he will hand over the reins of government to a colleague and opt for a top post in the European Union.
Media reports in Lisbon speculate that Costa could be the next President of the European Union Council, despite Costa having told the newspaper Publico that he would ‘not accept a mission that jeopardises stability in Portugal’. He followed it up with, ‘would I ever risk the stability I worked so hard to achieve?’
Costa led the Socialist Party to an absolute majority early last year in Portugal, but in recent months has faced successive crises with over ten ministers and secretaries of State quitting, leading to calls from the opposition for mid-term polls. Costa’s term as PM ends in 2026 and he has assured the President that he will complete it.
Yet, the speculation has not stopped. What further fuelled the speculation is Costa’s attending the Europa League final in Budapest last month, which many see as a signal that he may be willing to take up a European Union position. Portuguese media credits his leading the socialists to a victory in the elections, when elsewhere in Europe the far right was gaining ground, to have pushed him in the European Union limelight. Political commentators in Portugal see Costa as the ‘most prestigious socialist’ in the EU, making him the most favoured contender for the post of EU Council President.
This is not the first time that the Goan-origin Prime Minister of Portugal has been talked of for the post of EU Council president. Media reports that he had been offered the position in 2019, but had turned it down due to the commitment he had made to the Portuguese people. The position then went to the PM of Belgium, Charles Michel, who is due to complete his term next year.
Costa is the son of Goan writer Orlando da Costa and has been PM of Portugal since 2015, serving his third term as Prime Minister.
