Indian-origin mayor may be Portugal’s next PM
LONDON: A new name is likely to be added to the list of individuals of Indianorigin who hold or have held top political positions in various countries, that of Antonio Costa.
Costa, who hails from Goa, won the primary elections as the prime ministerial candidate of the opposition Socialist Party in Portugal on Sunday.
Costa has been a popular mayor of Lisbon since 2007, and is known as the ‘Gandhi of Lisbon’ due to his Spartan lifestyle. He trans- formed the once deprived parts of the capital and enjoys goodwill due to his ideas and eagerness to hear out people. He is now in his third term as mayor.
As mayor, Costa moved his office to the Mouraria neighbourhood, which was earlier known for drug trafficking and prostitution. Today, it is a busy construction hub. His new position on the national stage has the support of former president Jorge Sampio.
Costa defeated rival Antonio Jose Seguro in primaries, and will now succeed the latter as the secretary-general of Partido Socialista, which makes him the party’s PM candidate.
Portugal is scheduled to hold its next general elections in October 2015. Costa has caught the public imagination with his ideas for economic change and his slogan, ‘Mobilizar Portugal’ (Mobilize Portugal).
Born in Lisbon in 1961, Antonio Luis dos Santos da Costa is the son of novelist Orlando da Costa, who wrote essays on Rabindranath Tagore.
Antonio Costa’s grandfather, Luis Afonso Maria da Costa, who was born and brought up in Goa, was a descendant of prominent Hindu families who converted to Christianity during the Portuguese rule in Goa.
Also known as ‘Babush’ (Konkani word for boy), Costa believes in the Portuguese-Goan concept of ‘susegad’.