A Portuguese Election

Press, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 27193, 10 November 1953, Page 10

A Portuguese Election

It is not surprising that all opposition candidates were defeated in the Portuguese election. What is surprising is that there were 28 of them, that they were able to complete the campaign, and that one of them even had the privilege of being able to broadcast; for Portugal has had a tight dictatorship for 27 years. It is true that Dr. Antonio Salazar is an unusual, and relatively enlightened, • dictator, but' he is a dictator nevertheless. He was a professor of political economy at the University of Coimbra when the army seized power after 16 chaotic years in which there had been 43 governments, 20 serious riots, and a procession of presidents, several of whom had been assassinated. After a few days’ study of * ' problems he outlined his programme to the army leaders. When they ; rejected it he returned to the university. Eventually the army agreed to his programme, which as Minister of Finance he quickly put into effect. A few years later he became Prime Minister as well. The constitution prepared by Dr. Salazar guarantees some fundamental liberties, but also has provision for their suspension, enabling him to maintain his rule for so long that he is now easily, the most senior of European dictators. At times this has meant exile for some political critics, and imprisonment, usually for short terms in good conditions, for others. It has been contended that while Dr. Salazar has made the nation rich he has made the people poor. Yet the fact is that under his rule Portugal has been a tranquil and not unhappy country. “The “ price Portugal pays for stable “ authoritarian government is the “ dullness of conformity rather than “the brutality of the concentration “ camp ”, in the opinion of the “Manchester Guardian”, which is no lover of dictatorships, however benevolent “The Times ”, in a review of Dr. Salazar’s first 25 years, noted that “he is a scholar of the “art of government as well as one “of its 'more successful practi- “ tioners ”. Dictatorship has worked in Portugal because it has been an efficient

administration run by an unusual man and accepted by a politically backward people who have no wish to return to the violent partisanships of a generation ago. Dr. Salazar seems to have no ambitions beyond governing efficiently. His personal life is austere, and he avoids all the usual pomp and trappings of an absolute ruler. But even if 4ie> personally, is a possible exception to the rule about the corrupting effect of absolute power, what is to happen when he can no longer exercise it? His critics say his weakness is that he s does not always see facts when they are, coming, although it is admitted that he always sees them when they arrive; and it has been remarked that, unlike the Turkish despots, he has not done much to prepare his people for eventual self-government. The recent election suggests that in this, as in other matters, the politically adept dictator has, perhaps, not left it too late after all; and it may be that Portugal is at last heading for democracy. Portugal’s allies, although appreciative of the stability that Dr. Salazar has given his country, have every reason to hope that this is so.