LISBON, Portugal — Home furnishings giant Ikea recently placed billboards in Portugal advertising a self-assembly bookcase, with a wink at the country’s political upheaval. “A good place to stash books. Or to stash 75,800 euros,” it said.
That’s the amount of cash, equivalent to $82,000, police found stuffed in envelopes on bookshelves when they searched the office of the prime minister’s chief of staff last year during a corruption investigation.
The discovery triggered a scandal that brought down the government and led to an early general election on Sunday.
Corruption is a high-profile issue in the election after the cases “caused a lot of public dismay,” said Paula Espirito Santo, an associate professor at the University of Lisbon’s Superior Institute for Social and Political Sciences.
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The outrage could give further momentum to a rightward drift in European politics as a radical right populist party benefits from disenchantment with mainstream political parties. Similar trends gripped neighboring Spain and France.
Thousands of demonstrators attend a protest by police professional associations demanding better salaries and work conditions in Lisbon, Jan. 24, 2024.
Portugal’s center-left Socialist Party and center-right Social Democratic Party have alternated in power for decades. They are expected to collect most of the 10.8 million potential votes this time.
But both are tainted by charges of graft and cronyism.
The election is taking place because Socialist leader António Costa resigned after eight years as prime minister amid the corruption investigation. He hasn’t been accused of any crime.
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Also, a Lisbon court recently decided that a former Socialist prime minister should stand trial for corruption. Prosecutors accuse José Sócrates, prime minister between 2005-2011, of pocketing around 34 million euros ($37 million) from graft, fraud and money laundering during his time in power.
The Social Democratic Party is not unblemished, either.
A recent graft investigation in Portugal’s Madeira Islands triggered the resignation of two prominent Social Democrat officials. The scandal erupted on the same day the party unveiled an anti-corruption billboard in Lisbon that said, “It can’t go on like this.”
Yet Portugal’s malaise runs deeper than corruption.
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Two young women wear cardboard houses over their heads during a demonstration protesting Portugal’s housing crisis, in Lisbon, Jan. 27, 2024.
Despite tens of billions of euros in European Union development aid in recent decades, it remains one of Western Europe’s poorest countries.
In 2022, the average monthly wage before tax was around 1,400 euros ($1,500) — barely enough to rent a one-bedroom apartment in Lisbon as prices have shot up amid a housing crisis.
Close to 3 million Portuguese workers earn less than 1,000 euros ($1,085) a month. The average old-age pension is around 500 euros ($543) a month. Hardship has grown due to a surge in inflation.
The frustrations have come into sharper focus because the election roughly coincides with the 50th anniversary next month of the Carnation Revolution. That army coup swept away António Salazar’s right-wing dictatorship, which had kept the country in shackles for four decades, and introduced a democratic system of government.
The landmark event is a powerful symbol of hope in Portugal. In the opinion of many left-leaning people, its lofty ideals have been replaced by grubby political interests.
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“I’m a bit disillusioned, of course. I think we’re all going through a period of disillusionment … We believed in something,” said Osvaldo Sousa, an opera singer at Lisbon’s Sao Carlos theater who as a 20-year-old student witnessed tanks and troops in the streets on April 25, 1974.
“Our dreams came up short,” he said at his apartment in the capital’s suburbs, pointing to current difficulties with housing and public health care.
Even more frustrating for people like Sousa is that a radical right party could now have access to power through the ballot box.
People walk by a billboard for Andre Ventura, leader of populist radical right party Chega (in English, Enough) with the words, “We pay so many taxes to sustain corruption”, in Lisbon, March 4, 2024.
The Chega (Enough) party may end up in the role of kingmaker if, as expected, the main parties need the support of smaller rivals to form a government.
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Just five years old, Chega collected its first seat in Portugal’s 230-seat Parliament in 2019. That jumped to 12 seats in 2022, and polls suggest it could more than double that number this time.
Party leader André Ventura is tapping the public disenchantment. “For 50 years the Portuguese have voted for the same parties and nothing’s changed,” he said recently.
Ventura has forged friendly relations with Matteo Salvini, Italy’s deputy prime minister and head of the populist, right-wing League party, and French far-right leader Marine Le Pen. Like them, he prefers the EU to be a grouping of sovereign states with no federal obligations. He also wants tighter controls on immigration.
Ventura has indicated he is prepared to drop some of Chega’s more controversial proposals, such as chemical castration for some sex offenders, if that opens the door to a governing alliance with other right-of-center parties.
He has made use of social media to reach younger voters. One is 21-year-old Carolina Pereira, who said she had to drop out of university because she couldn’t afford to continue.
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Now she can’t find a job as the work available pays badly, and young people from her city of Almada near Lisbon are seeking work abroad.
“I identify (with Ventura) because I want things to change,” she said.
Copyright 2024 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
The Clemson Tigers are getting ready for what will be a crucial game in Week 14 against the South Carolina Gamecocks.
This rivalry matchup is not going to disappoint, as both teams are coming into the game as Top-25 schools. For the Tigers, there is a lot on the line in this matchup.
Due to Clemson not holding the tie-breaker against the Miami Hurricanes in the ACC and the SMU Mustangs already clinching a spot, the Tigers are going to have to hope for a Hurricanes’ loss to the Syracuse Orange if they are going to make the title game.
However, due to recent upsets in the SEC, another path might have emerged for Clemson to make the College Football Playoffs. If they can beat a Top-25 team in the Gamecocks on Saturday, it could be the type of statement win that propels them into an at-large bid.
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While making the CFP still might be realistic, they first and foremost have to handle South Carolina, which will be no easy task.
The Gamecocks have also had a great season, and they could present some matchup problems for Clemson.
On offense, South Carolina is a run first team. Stopping the run has been an issue at times for the Tigers, as they just recently got torched on the ground against The Citadel Bulldogs. If Clemson is unable to stop or at least slow down the rushing attack for the Gamecocks, it will allow them to control the pace of the game. That obviously wouldn’t be ideal for the Tigers.
Furthermore, on the defensive side of things, the Tigers’ offense is going to have their work cut out for them against a very strong Gamecocks defense. Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik has had a very strong season and this could end up being a defining game of his college career.
Going back to the win against the Pittsburgh Panthers, the Tigers’ offense really struggled on the ground trying to run the football. If that’s the case once again in Week 14, it will fall on the shoulders of Klubnik to get the job done.
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This matchup could very well go down as one of the games of the week and potentially the year, with both teams being fairly even talent-wise on paper. For Clemson, this is a must-win game to keep their playoff hopes alive, as a win this late in the season against a Top-25 team would be a nice last thing to put on their resume.
Overall, the Tigers are going to need to have a balanced attack and prepare to stop the run if they are going to come away with the win against their rival.
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The entire police department of a small South Carolina town resigned en masse, leaving the area without its own dedicated police force.
Chief Bob Hale of the McColl Police Department announced his resignation on November 21 in a social media post, citing a “hostile work environment perpetuated by a specific Councilman.”
“For months, I have endured unwarranted and malicious behavior aimed at undermining my integrity and leadership,” Hale wrote. “These actions have not only affected me personally but have also created a toxic atmosphere that has hindered the department’s ability to function effectively.”
The chief also said his department’s resources had been severely cut. The four officers under his command quickly resigned as well.
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“At the end of the day, I have a family. And when my job is constantly getting threatened and certain things are getting said I’m not going to stay somewhere and tolerate that,” former McColl investigator Courtney Bulusan told WRAL.
“I’m not going to stay where I’m tolerated,” Bulusan said. “I’m going to go where I’m celebrated.”
As the town seeks new officers, the Marlboro County Sheriff’s Office will fill in for the department police force, according to South Carolina Public Radio.
The town has gone through six chiefs in the past four years. Hale’s tenure in the position lasted little over a year.
“I feel unsafe. Very unsafe,” resident Lisa Bowen told local outlet WPDE. “Because anytime anybody could do anything.”
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“They jump ship back and forth all the time,” Mayor George Garner told the Post and Courier newspaper. “This is nothing new.”
The paper reported that the councilman in question denied he had harassed any of the officers and told the paper the allegations were “hearsay.”
Such mass resignations, while uncommon, are not unprecedented.
The entire police force of Geary, Oklahoma, resigned earlier this month, Fox News reports.
UCLA’s win over No. 1 ranked South Carolina wasn’t a fluke, and Bruins center Lauren Betts says if you haven’t been paying attention, now would be the time to.
Let’s say the thing. It was not close on Sunday. From the opening tip to the final buzzer, UCLA commanded the floor and had an answer for everything the Gamecocks tried to do. The Bruins beat South Carolina on the boards (41-34), held four starters to under five points, and *checks notes* not a single starter went to the free-throw line. UGLY STUFF.
Furthermore, five UCLA players scored in double figures, including Londynn Jones, who was sensational from the line with five 3-pointers, and star center Lauren Betts, who had 11 points, 14 rebounds, four assists and four blocks. WHEW. Postgame, Betts raved about her team and how proud she was, but she also sent a direct warning to college basketball. “If you’ve been sleeping on UCLA,” Betts said. “You need to stop right now.”
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