Lisbon, Portugal
TV viewers in Portugal have touched off a national identity crisis by voting for their former dictator as the “greatest Portuguese of all time.” António de Oliveira Salazar brought stability to Portugal when he took power in a 1926 coup, but he also created a police state that tortured dissidents and censored all critics. Prime Minister José Sócrates blamed the choice of Salazar on a vocal group of right-wing bloggers who mobilized the extremist vote. “We are a modern European country,” Sócrates said. “We voted 59 percent in favor of liberalizing abortion.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
'We already have the tools to do better'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Kurdish PKK militia to disband for Turkey talksspeed read The Kurdistan Workers' Party will disarm after four decades of armed conflict with Turkey, putting an end to 'one of the longest insurgencies in the Middle East'
-
US, China agree to lower tariffs for 90 daysspeed read US tariffs will fall to 30% from 145%, while China will cut its tax on US imports to 10% from 125%
