{"id":12246,"date":"2023-11-08T03:18:47","date_gmt":"2023-11-08T03:18:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thenftimes.com\/index.php\/2023\/11\/08\/portugal-prime-minister-antonio-costa-resigns-unexpectedly-n-f-times\/"},"modified":"2023-11-08T03:18:48","modified_gmt":"2023-11-08T03:18:48","slug":"portugal-prime-minister-antonio-costa-resigns-unexpectedly-n-f-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thenftimes.com\/index.php\/2023\/11\/08\/portugal-prime-minister-antonio-costa-resigns-unexpectedly-n-f-times\/","title":{"rendered":"Portugal Prime Minister Antonio Costa resigns unexpectedly – N.F Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Lisbon: Portugal Prime Minister Antonio Costa resigned unexpectedly on Tuesday. His resignation came hours after the police raided government buildings as part of an inquiry into corruption and \u201cinfluence peddling\u201d and issued an arrest warrant for Costa\u2019s chief of staff, The New York Times reported.<\/p>\n

Costa has been in power since 2015.<\/p>\n

In his televised remarks, he said that he had been \u201csurprised\u201d to learn that he would be the subject of criminal proceedings and that \u201cno illicit act weighs on my conscience.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, I believe that the dignity of the office of the prime minister is not compatible with any suspicion about your integrity or your good conduct and even less with the practical suspicion of any criminal act. Therefore, in these circumstances, obviously, I presented my resignation,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

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Portugal Prime Minister Antonio Costa resigns unexpectedly<\/p>\n

Read @ANI<\/a> Story | https:\/\/t.co\/U8qMWUPyNr#Portugal<\/a> #AntonioCosta<\/a> #Resign<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/gNN0HvYrpe<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 ANI Digital (@ani_digital) November 7, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

A judge authorised the police to search 37 locations, including the office of Costa\u2019s chief of staff, the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Infrastructure, a City Council office in the town of Sines and several private homes, according to a statement from the prosecutor general\u2019s office, as per The New York Times.<\/p>\n

The investigation relates to lithium exploration concessions in northern Portugal and a hydrogen-energy production plant and data centre in Sines, on the country\u2019s southern coast, the statement said.<\/p>\n

Though the statement did not name Costa, arrest warrants were issued for the head of the prime minister\u2019s office\u2013identified by local media as Vitor Escaria\u2013along with the mayor of Sines and three other individuals. Portugal\u2019s minister of infrastructure and the head of Portugal\u2019s Environmental Agency were also named as suspects in the statement.<\/p>\n

The prosecutor\u2019s office said that the investigation showed that the suspects had invoked Costa\u2019s name and authority \u201cto unblock procedures\u201d in relation to the exploration concessions.<\/p>\n

Portugal has significant reserves of lithium, an essential ingredient in electric car batteries and renewable energy.
The leader of the Socialist Party, Costa, took office in 2015 when he lost an election but ended up becoming prime minister anyway after persuading two smaller left-wing parties to back him.<\/p>\n

At the time, the alliance was ridiculed as a \u201cgeringonca,\u201d or \u201ccontraption,\u201d that his opponents said would fall apart in no time\u2013but he has been in power ever since.<\/p>\n

The Socialists won an outright majority in snap elections in 2022, giving them enough seats in Parliament to govern without a coalition. The result was seen as a relief for Costa, who had been popular for managing the country\u2019s response to the coronavirus pandemic but also faced questions about his stewardship of the economy, as per The New York Times.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n