The landslide victory of Madeira's sovereign ruler

Alberto João Jardim, who has ruled over the Portuguese island of Madeira for 30 years, had called for early elections in order to protest against the government's Finance Law. This risky bet turned into a landslide victory for him in the vote held on Sunday, May 6th, according to the editorialist Almícar Correia, after his socialdemocratic party obtained 33 out of the 47 seats in the local assembly. "The 40th electoral victory of the eternal president can be explained more by the protest vote against the Finance Law [aimed to rebalance public funding] than by the choice of an assembly. ... Demanding more money of Lisbon, while Madeira is already the second richest region in the country, is perpetually popular among voters on the island. With this result, Jardim has managed to get what he wanted: to extend his mandate to 2011. ... He managed this single-handed and despite the excessive spending in the campaign along with accusations of embezzlement of public funding for electoral purposes that he has received."

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