Anti-Austerity and the Politics of Toleration in Portugal

Since the end of 2015, Portugal’s social democratic Partido Socialista (PS) has been in a minority government with parliamentary support from the radical Left – the Left Bloc (Bloco de Esquerda) and the Communist Party (PCP). Does this strategy of toleration of an anti-austerity government allow room for manoeuvre for a radical Left negotiating between opposition and participation in a coalition government as a ‘junior partner’? Does it enable the advancement of specific limited reforms and at the same time the development of an independent transformative project? Could it possibly even serve as a model for other countries?

Content:

• Mario Candeias: Toleration by the radical Left – a successful model? Between opposition and "junior partner": How the strategy of support allows room for manoeuvre
• Catarina Príncipe: Anti-Austerity and the Politics of Toleration in Portugal. A way for the Radical Left to develop a transformative project?
• Mariana Mortágua/Catarina Príncipe: “Towards an improvement of the conditions of struggle”. An interview on social progress and economic recovery – with an uncertain outlook