Portugal’s Prime Minister Luís Montenegro stated that he would support former PM António Costa if he decided to run for the European Council’s top office, according to Euractiv.
It is possible the presidency of the European Council will go to a Socialist candidate. If Antonio Costa is a candidate for this position…the Portuguese government will not only support (him) but will do everything to ensure his candidacy is successful.
The Council, which represents the national governments of the 27 member states, is one of the European Union’s three main political institutions, along with the European Commission and the European Parliament.
However, the rise of Eurosceptic nationalist parties in this Sunday’s European Parliament elections could complicate Ursula von der Leyen’s bid for a second term as Commission president. If von der Leyen is re-elected, the post of Council president would likely go to the Socialists.
Experts see Costa, who has governed Portugal for eight years from late 2015 but stepped down last November, as a strong candidate for the position.
The current president of the European Council is Charles Michel, a Belgian liberal who will lead the institution until the end of November this year.
Montenegro made the statement reacting to the results of the European Parliament elections. According to them, the Socialists won in Portugal by a small margin. They managed to get 32.1 per cent of the vote, slightly more than Montenegro’s ruling Democratic Alliance (AD) coalition.
