The previous elections:
Portuguese elections 1975Portuguese elections 1976Portuguese elections 1979Portuguese elections 1980The 1983 elections were called around 1 year before the end of the 2nd legislature, making it a snap election.
Parties:
PPD/PSD - Social Democratic Party, center to center-right, leader Carlos Mota Pinto
PS - Socialist Party center-left, leader Mário Soares
CDS - Democratic Social Center, center-right, leader Francisco Lucas Pires
APU - United People Alliance (PCP, MDP/CDE), left-wing, leader Álvaro Cunhal
PPM - People's Monarchist Party, center-right, leader Gonçalo Ribeiro Telles
UDP - People's Democratic Union, radical left, leader, Acácio Barreiros*1
POUS - Workers Party of Socialist Unity, far-left
PSR - Revolutionary Socialist Party, far-left*1
PCTP/MRPP - Portuguese Workers' Communist Party, far-left/Maoism, leader Arnaldo Matos
PDC - Christian Democratic Party, far-right
PDA - Democratic Party of the Atlantic, right-wing to far-right
OCMLP - Portuguese Marxist–Leninist Communist Organization, far-left
FER - Socialist Workers League, far-left
PC(R) - Communist Party (Reconstructed), far-left*2
Notes:
*1 - UDP and PSR ran in a joint list in the two main districts in the country, Lisbon and Porto.
*2 - PC(R) only ran in the Europe and Outside Europe districts.
Background:
The 1980 general elections strengthened the AD as they won more seats, and votes, compared with 1979. But, the victory celebrations were short lived. As the country was ready to head to the poll to elect, or reelect, a new President of the Republic, party leaders were actively campaigning for Ramalho Eanes or Soares Carneiro, the AD candidate. Mário Soares was the sole expection as he splited the PS because of his refusal to support Eanes. But, on December 4th 1980 Francisco Sá Carneiro, his partner Snu Abecassis, his defense minister and wife were killed in a tragic airplane crash just outside Lisbon. The crash is still debated but, nowadays, the thesis that it was a deliberate attack rather than accident is more acceptable. The death of Sá Carneiro shocked the country but it didn't helped the AD presidential candidate. 2 days later he was defeated by Eanes 56% to 40%. The death of Sá Carneiro meant that a new PM and PSD leader had to be nominated. Francisco Pinto Balsemão, Sá Carneiro's deputy, was sworn in as PM and PSD leader in January 1981.
Without having the charisma and political mind of Sá Carneiro, Balsemão faced serious difficulties as PM and was unable to control the uneasiness between the AD parties. Resignations of ministers were quite common and workers unions staged a massive general strike in February 1982 that shocked the government. Nonetheless, during his term a major Constitutional reform, negotiated with the PS, was approved even though President Eanes disagreed with it. The reform lowered the powers of the President of the Republic, making the post almost ceremonial, and ended the very controversial Revolution Council and created the Constitutional Court. On the economic front, Balsemão was facing an economic downturn, increase unemployment and a huge spike in inflation. By the end of 1982, Portugal was in the verge of recession. This culminated with the 1982 local elections that resulted in heavy losses for the PSD. The Social Democrats won more cities but the magnitude of the loses was overwhelming. A few weeks later, in January 1983, Balsemão tendered his resignation and President Eanes called for a new election to be held in 25 April 1983.
The AD, Democratic Alliance, was over. PSD, CDS and PPM refused to contest the elections in a coalition and all 3 ran alone. PSD elected Carlos Mota Pinto, former PM between 1978 and 1979, as the party's candidate and leader. Carlos Mota Pinto was a centrist, very close friend of Mário Soares, and was open to form a "grand coalition" with the PS to govern Portugal. The country was already in a recession by 1983 and talks of another IMF bailout were up in the air. The stage was set for the April 1983 elections.
Poll
