Rear Window | 400 blows

Severo Portela

Macau Special Administrative Region maverick lawmaker, José Pereira Coutinho, was around 400 votes short of landing a seat in the Portuguese parliament.  With few expectations, Coutinho dared to run as the overseas constituency’s front candidate with a brand new political party, roughly translated as “We, Citizens”. This candid move was to agitate the political mood before, during and after, as the pun goes, in both Lisbon and Macau.  It proved to have chess-like qualities about it.
Portugal went to the customary but decisive legislative elections after four years of a majority right overseeing a tough financial bailout. According to all surveys, both the incumbent PSD/CDS coalition and the Socialist Party in-waiting would need each and every mandate to succeed and rule.
However, neither of the above, probably out of state considerations, rather than legal ones, seemed to have approached Pereira Coutinho.  It is an open secret that the grassroots Macau legislator cum president of the Macau Civil Servants Association (ATFPM) and local head of the Council of the Portuguese Community commands the perimeter of the Portuguese vote: local and expat Portuguese residents as well as a few thousand Chinese residents. In case the meaning of “command” gets a twisted one can replace it by saying Coutinho “has an edge” for the Portuguese vote.
To make a long story short, the two seats on the ballot went to the incumbents, leaving Coutinho in the wilderness by 400 votes. Does this look like plain defeat? Indeed, but in the end not one of the 400 François Truffaut blows wounded or prodded the directly-elected leader of the New Hope.
Allegedly, Coutinho lost due to problems related to the post office delivery service and other ballot incidences, especially in those consulates in China. “We, Citizens” complained but the Portuguese Constitutional Court boxed it on grounds that the case would have no merit since the political outcome of the elections would not be jeopardized. We´ll never know if it was just an eventful electoral environment or rather something fishy.
But what we care to underline is that before, during and after, Coutinho succeeded in nudging the predictable chorus of his fellow Portuguese naysayers, especially in agitating his fellow lawmakers to assess his move to run for the Portuguese parliament.
First of all, prominent lawmaker Chui Sai Peng, despite the legislative assembly being in recess and without mentioning Coutinho, hinted at a revision of the Rules and Procedures. Afterwards, opinions piled up about the impediments Coutinho was facing and other ethical issues. Second to none, political heavyweight Ho Iat Seng took the now non-issue into the mires of the Basic Law, raising the question of loyalty and disregarding the fact that if Coutinho got elected it would be only he who would need choose which seat to fill. Article 71 of the Basic Law states succinctly: “The Legislative Assembly shall be composed of permanent residents of the Region”.
We chose to open this column with an unusual compliment but well deserved to the New Hope maverick politician. José Pereira Coutinho just enhanced his political credibility by running under the “We, Citizens” banner with the numbers on his side but against all odds, and by answering fair and square to Ho Iat Seng. What about loyalty when local Chinese travel on Portuguese documents? Is that an issue?
Today, when the Legislative Assembly opens its doors to a plenary session, on the table legislators will have matters such as car park monthly passes, social housing and condo fees. Meaning no disrespect, if we were to pick one topic to define Macau’s particular brand of uber-gambling destination we would go with Ng Kwok Cheong and Au Kam San… they want to replace the lucky draw system for social flats with a system of points.