- 1440 Daily Digest
Portugal PM Steps Down
Portugal's Socialist Prime Minister António Costa announced his resignation after eight years yesterday amid a broad corruption probe by the national police into several high-ranking officials. The country's president will meet with party leaders and his advisers today and tomorrow to decide whether to dissolve parliament or appoint a replacement from the ruling Socialist party.
His resignation followed police raids of reportedly 37 locations Tuesday, including the office of Costa's chief of staff, Vitor Escaria, two government ministries, and several residences. The probe reportedly stems from allegations Costa's administration conducted illicit multibillion-dollar deals over the country's sprawling lithium mine industry—a key element in batteries—as well as a planned hydrogen plant and several data centers in the country's south. Costa denied all wrongdoing.
The 62-year-old won an outright majority of seats in parliament last year, and was often touted as a likely candidate to succeed Charles Michel as the next European Council president.