Latest news with #SocialistParty
Malay Mail
a day ago
- General
- Malay Mail
Queer health workshop shelved amid death threats as PSM Youth accuses minister's remark of inciting hostility
KUALA LUMPUR, May 31 – Socialist Party of Malaysia's (PSM) youth wing said today it was forced to postpone its closed-door event indefinitely after a surge in hateful comments and death threats following remarks by Religious Affairs Minister Datuk Dr Mohd Na'im Mokhtar. It linked the spike in online hostility to the minister's recent statements about its queer-focused sexual health workshop, which it described as a small, lawful, and educational initiative focused on delivering accurate, stigma-free information. 'Since the minister's statement, the number of hateful comments and death threats on our social media handles has increased exponentially. Is violence and hatred the culture we want to 'normalise' in Malaysia?' its chairman Amanda Shweeta Louis asked in a statement here. Socialist Youth said the 'PRIDECARE: Queer Stories and Sexual Health Awareness' programme aligns with Malaysia's National Strategic Plan to End AIDS (2021–2030). It also criticised the minister for contradicting his own February 2025 remarks, in which he had urged caution and sensitivity when speaking about issues affecting diverse communities. 'The reaction from both the public and the minister reflects the rising irrationality and hatred towards gender minorities, even though the program is in the public's interest to curb the spread of sexually-transmitted infections (STIs),' it said. 'Socialist Youth stands firmly against this wave of hatred and repression. We will not stay silent while vulnerable groups are threatened with violence and denied their dignity, whether by the state or by the public.' Despite the indefinite postponement of the workshop, the wing said it remained open to dialogue with the Religious Affairs Ministry, the Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) and the Bar Council to facilitate meaningful engagement on the issue. Earlier this week, Mohd Na'im had urged the authorities, including the police, to immediately investigate the programme and take appropriate action should there be any breach of the law. He claimed the workshop 'clearly challenges societal norms and religious values upheld by the majority of Malaysians', even when held behind closed doors.
Shafaq News
a day ago
- Politics
- Shafaq News
Barcelona cuts ties with Israel over Gaza massacres
Shafaq News/ On Friday, Barcelona's city council voted to sever institutional relations with the Israeli government and suspend its friendship agreement with the city of Tel Aviv 'until international law is respected and the fundamental rights of the Palestinian people are guaranteed.' The decision, which includes around twenty measures, was supported by the ruling Socialist Party in Barcelona, several left-wing parties, and pro-independence groups. It calls for cutting institutional ties with the 'current Israeli government' and suspending the friendship pact signed on September 24, 1998, between Barcelona and Tel Aviv. Barcelona's Socialist mayor, Jaume Collboni, said the 'level of suffering and death witnessed in Gaza over the past year and a half, along with repeated Israeli government attacks in recent weeks, makes any relationship between the two cities unsustainable.' Among other measures included in the decision, some beyond the municipality's authority, the city council called on the board of the Barcelona trade fair to bar Israeli government pavilions, 'arms companies, or any sector benefiting from genocide, occupation, apartheid, and colonialism against the Palestinian people.' A similar recommendation is under consideration for the Port of Barcelona, advising it not to receive ships involved in transporting arms to Israel. It is not the first time Barcelona has suspended ties with the government of Benjamin Netanyahu. In February 2023, former mayor and social activist Ada Colau also decided to suspend relations with Israel and cancel twinning agreements with Tel Aviv. Meanwhile, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has urged all European Union member states to suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement and impose an arms embargo on Israel. 'It is unacceptable to remain silent in the face of violations of international humanitarian law in Gaza and the killing of more than 50,000 people,' Sánchez said, stressing that there must be no 'double standards' between Ukraine and Gaza. Spain, which recognized the State of Palestine a year ago, renewed its call for an immediate halt to the war in Gaza and the urgent entry of humanitarian aid.
Reuters
2 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Portugal's president invites caretaker PM to lead new government
LISBON, May 29 (Reuters) - Portugal's president named Luis Montenegro, head of the centre-right Democratic Alliance (AD) that won a snap national election on May 18, as the prime minister on Thursday and invited him to form his second minority government, the presidency said. The AD won 91 seats in the 230-seat parliament - 11 more than in the previous legislature, but still far from a working majority - in an election marked by far-right party Chega replacing the Socialist Party (PS) as the main opposition force. Montenegro, who first came to power in March 2024, has refused to make any deals with the anti-establishment, anti-immigration Chega, which garnered 60 seats, two more than the PS after the latter's worst showing in four decades. The office of President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said in a statement after he consulted the three main parties on Thursday that Montenegro would announce his new government after parliament convenes for its first session. No confirmation vote is required, although any party can present a motion of rejection. The election, the third in as many years, was called after Montenegro failed to win a vote of confidence in March when the opposition questioned his integrity over dealings of his family's consultancy firm. He has denied any wrongdoing and voters ended up punishing the PS for its role in bringing down Montenegro's government, in what many people saw as an unnecessary election. Parliament is expected to enable the new government on its return next week. PS's interim leader, Carlos Cesar, promised his support in that initial step. While the government's first big test is likely to be the 2026 budget towards the end of the year, no new parliamentary poll can be called until at least mid-2026 because Portugal will hold a presidential election next January. Although that doesn't guarantee political stability, the centre-left PS's weakened position is likely to make them a more amenable opposition with more affinities with the AD than with Chega, analysts say, seeing little danger of a legislative paralysis in the medium term.
Free Malaysia Today
3 days ago
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
Portugal far-right party becomes second biggest in parliament
Former trainee priest Andre Ventura founded Chega in 2019. (AP pic) LISBON : Portugal's far-right Chega party won second place in snap elections last week, according to final results published yesterday, making it the official opposition party in the country just six years after its creation. Chega, which means 'Enough', and the left-wing Socialist Party (PS) had been level on 58 seats after the provisional results from the May 18 poll. But the far-right party won two of the previously unannounced four overseas constituencies, taking its tally to 60. The centre-right Democratic Alliance (AD) claimed the other two overseas seats taking its total to 91, still far from the 116 seats needed to form a majority government. The Social Democratic Party of outgoing prime minister Luis Montenegro is the main party of the alliance. 'It is a big victory,' said Chega founder and leader Andre Ventura, claiming that it 'marks a profound change in the Portuguese political system'. Montenegro is expected to try to form a minority government after the latest election and he has said he will not deal with Chega. But Ventura called on Montenegro to 'break' with the Socialists. 'Portugal is moving in line with the European trend' for a 'protest vote' and 'anti-establishment sentiment', said Paula Espirito Santo at Lisbon University's higher institute of social and political sciences. 'Divine mission' Support for Chega has grown in every general election since the party was founded in 2019 by Ventura, a former trainee priest who later became a television football commentator. It won 1.3% of the vote in a general election the year it was founded, giving it a seat in parliament – the first time a far-right party had won representation in Portugal's legislature since a coup in 1974 toppled a decades-long rightist dictatorship. Chega became the third-largest force in parliament in the next general election in 2022 and quadrupled its parliamentary seats last year to 50, cementing its place in Portugal's political landscape and mirroring gains by similar parties across Europe. Chega's policies include chemical castration for paedophiles, limiting newcomers' access to welfare benefits, and stricter controls on migration which it links to crime and higher pensions. Ventura attended US President Donald Trump's inauguration in January, and has embraced the support of Brazil's former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro. He speaks of restoring respect for the police, and has protested on the streets with Movement Zero, a group of disgruntled police officers with suspected extremist ties who are demanding better pay and conditions. 'In politics, you have to be different. And I wanted to be different,' Ventura once said of himself, before adding that his path had been guided by a 'divine mission'. 'Fundamental shift' When preliminary election results came in last week, Ventura said he was confident his party would eventually finish ahead of the PS. 'Nothing will ever be the same again,' Ventura told his supporters, who chanted 'Portugal is ours and it always will be'. 'This is indeed a fundamental shift,' said analyst Espirito Santo. 'We cannot say that Chega will lose ground in the coming years… It looks as though Chega is here to stay for a while.' Many voters 'certainly support the radical and anti-establishment solutions that Chega proposes' but others may have chosen the party 'because of the erosion of the traditional parties' ability to meet expectations', she said. The future of the Socialist Party meanwhile remains 'unpredictable', Espirito Santo said. Party leader Pedro Nuno Santos, a 48-year-old economist, said he would stand down after the initial election results were announced. Under a previous PS government, Portugal became one of Europe's most open countries for immigrants. Between 2017 and 2024, the number of foreigners living in Portugal quadrupled, reaching about 15% of the total population. President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa is to hold new talks with the leaders of the three main parties today and could name a new prime minister during the day.
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Far-right Chega party becomes main opposition in Portugal's parliament
The far-right Chega party has overturned decades of bipartisan politics in Portugal by squeaking into second place in the country's third snap election in three years, edging out the socialists to become the biggest opposition party in parliament. The centre-right Democratic Alliance (AD), led by the prime minister, Luís Montenegro, finished first in the election 10 days ago, but once again fell well short of a majority, taking 31.2% of the vote and winning 91 seats in Portugal's 230-seat assembly. But the race for second place was a closely fought contest between the Socialist party (PS) and Chega. With 99% of the votes counted on election night itself, the provisional results had the PS and Chega tied on 58 seats each, although the socialists had a slightly larger share of the vote. But when the overseas votes were counted and added to the national tally on Wednesday, Chega reached a final total of 60 seats and won 22.76% of the vote, while the PS stayed at 58 seats but maintained its marginally higher share of the vote (22.83%). The far-right party, which was founded in 2019 by the former football pundit André Ventura, has capitalised on widespread dissatisfaction with Portugal's mainstream left and right parties as the country continues to suffer a housing crisis, stressed health and education systems, and an average monthly wage of €1,602 (£1,346). It has seen a dramatic rise in support over the past few years, winning 1.3% of the vote in 2019, 7.2% in 2022, and 18.1% last year, when its seat count shot up from 12 to 50. Ventura thanked his supporters as the final results came on Wednesday evening, saying his party's historic performance represented a win for the entire country and showed that its political system had 'changed forever today'. 'What a great victory!!! Thank you to all the Portuguese who trusted us!' he wrote on X. 'This historic victory is also yours, it is Portugal's!'. The PS's dire performance – down 20 seats on last year's result – had already led its leader, Pedro Nuno Santos, to announce his resignation hours after the polls closed. Carlos César, the president of the PS, accepted his party's relegation to third place a few hours before Wednesday's final results were published, saying the writing had been on the wall for his party since election night. 'We will have time, later, to reflect and to correct our paths and to once again deserve the increased trust of the Portuguese people,' he said, adding that once a new leader was chosen at the end of June, the party would have to prove that it was 'an instrument of participation and innovation'. Chega's delight at eclipsing the PS will be tempered by the knowledge that it is no closer to government because of Montenegro's enduring refusal to strike any deals with the party. 'Governing with Chega is impossible for three reasons,' Montenegro has previously said. 'It isn't reliable in its thinking; it behaves like a political weathervane, always changing its mind, and it's not suited to the exercise of government.' The small Liberal Initiative party – which could throw its weight behind Montenegro, bringing the AD nine extra seats – has also categorically refused to do anything that would help Chega into power. If invited to form a new government by the president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, Montenegro's minority government will face another fragmented and awkward legislature. The early election was triggered in March after the prime minister used a confidence vote in his government to try to head off growing scrutiny relating to a data protection consultancy that he founded in 2021 and which he transferred to his wife and sons the following year. Faced with questions over possible conflicts of interest, the prime minister – who has denied any wrongdoing or ethical breaches – said he hoped the vote would 'end the atmosphere of permanent insinuations and intrigues'. But he failed to win the confidence of MPs and a fresh election was called. The electoral campaign had focused on issues such as housing, public services and safety. Immigration – one of Chega's priorities – has also risen up the agenda, and Montenegro's caretaker government was recently accused of pandering to the far right after it announced the expulsion of 18,000 irregular migrants earlier this month. Chega's vows to clean up politics – and its hardline stance on immigration and people abusing the benefits system – have recently been undermined by the kind of corruption and sleaze scandals it has been railing against. In January, Ventura's party expelled one of its MPs after he was accused of stealing suitcases at several airports. Another member of the party was caught drunk-driving the same month, while a third has been charged with paying for oral sex with an underage male who was 15 at the time.
