Socrates is voted back
INTERIM Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates has been voted back in as leader of his Socialist Party after quitting last week.
He had walked out after parliament voted down the Socialists’ austerity budget, but his victory in the party vote means he will lead them into an election in two months’ time. He won 93 per cent of 32,000 members’ votes.
Markets continue to be unsettled by the political crisis in Lisbon, however, with yields on the country’s five year debt sky-high shooting over 8.5 per cent, compared to under eight per cent a week ago.
EU leaders unveiled a “comprehensive package” to solve the region’s debt crisis after a two-day summit on Friday. The agreement made progress on establishing the Eurozone’s permanent bailout fund.