May 12, 2008

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The Socialist Party (PS) of Portuguese prime minister Jose Socrates is the most popular political organization in the country, according to a poll by Marktest released by Diario de Noticias and TSF. 38 per cent of respondents would vote for the PS in the next general election.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The Socialist Party (PS) of Portuguese prime minister Jose Socrates is the most popular political organization in the country, according to a poll by Marktest released by Diario de Noticias and TSF. 38 per cent of respondents would vote for the PS in the next general election.

The Social Democratic Party (PSD) is second with 31.5 per cent, followed by the Leftist Bloc (BE) with 11.5 per cent, the Unitarian Democratic Coalition (CDU)—which includes the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP) and the Environmental Party "The Greens" (OV)—with 10.8 per cent, and the Social Democratic Centre / Popular Party (CDS/PP) with 4.3 per cent.

The Socialists won the February 2005 parliamentary ballot, garnering 45.3 per cent of the vote and electing 121 lawmakers to the 230-seat Assembly of the Republic. Socialist leader Socrates took over as prime minister in March. In September 2007, Luis Filipe Menezes was elected as the new leader of the right-leaning PSD.

This month, lawmakers are due to debate a bill seeking to change close to 2,000 Portuguese words in order to standardize the language and facilitate communication—mostly commercial—between Portugal and other countries that speak Portuguese, such as Brazil. Socrates supports the bill, but many prominent figures oppose it because the language spoken in Brazil would become the norm. Portuguese poet Vasco Graça Moura decried the bill, saying, "There is no need for us to take a back seat to Brazil."

Brazil, a former Portuguese colony, gained independence in 1822. The South American country’s standing in international trade has become difficult to ignore for Portugal, home to 10.6 million Portuguese-speakers—compared to Brazil’s 190 million. Portuguese is also spoken in Angola, Mozambique, East Timor, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, and Sao Tome and Principe.

Polling Data

What party would you vote for in a general election?

	Apr. 2008	Mar. 2008	Feb. 2008
Socialist Party (PS)	38.0%	37.8%	36.1%
Social Democratic Party (PSD)	31.5%	31.9%	33.4%
Leftist Bloc (BE)	11.5%	10.4%	8.0%
Unitarian Democratic Coalition (CDU) Portuguese Communist Party (PCP) Environmental Party "The Greens" (OV)	10.8%	12.1%	12.8%
Social Democratic Centre / Popular Party (CDS/PP)	4.3%	4.0%	5.6%

Source: Marktest / Diario de Noticias / TSF
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 804 Portuguese adults, conducted from Apr. 15 to Apr. 18, 2008. Margin of error is 3.45 per cent.