Portugal’s Bobi stripped of oldest dog ever title, owner reacts // Democratic Alliance leading polls ahead of election
Portuguese news in English on Tuesday, February 27, 2024.
Portugal’s Bobi stripped of oldest dog ever title, owner reacts
The dream is over. Bobi, the dog formerly known as the world’s oldest ever, has been stripped of his title, the BBC reports, in English. Last week, Guinness World Records finished up its months-long review into the title following a dispute about the rafeiro do Alentejo’s age, which was claimed to be 31 when he died in October. "We're left with no conclusive evidence which can definitively prove Bobi's date of birth,” GWR said. "Without any conclusive evidence available to us right now, we simply can't retain Bobi as the record holder." The breed typically lives about 12-14 years but Bobi’s owner attributed his long life to his diet and free life in the countryside near the town of Conqueiros, in Leiria.
Bobi’s owner, Leonel Costa, said the decision “doesn’t make sense”, taking issue with the timing of the complaint, Observador reports. “Bobi died on October 20, was cremated on the 25th and the complaint was made on the 27th,” he told the publication. “ … Bobi was analysed over a year, lived another year and a half after the record and now they come to investigate?”
Democratic Alliance leading polls ahead of election
Two polls have pointed to an increase in support for the centre-right Democratic Alliance (AD) ahead of the March 10 elections, Diário de Notícias reports. The separate polls both put the coalition between the Social Democratic Party (PSD), CDS - People’s Party and monarchist party (PPM) a few percentage points ahead of the Socialist Party (PS), with far-right Chega in third.
On the policy side, every party acknowledges the need to address the housing crisis but they have different ideas for how to do so, Público reports, in an in-depth feature also highlighting several horror stories from younger renters. Every party except the Liberal Initiative (IL) wants to increase the number of people eligible for rental assistance and there’s also broad consensus about the need to get more rental stock on the market, particularly unused public buildings. Beyond that it gets a bit more complicated, with parties on the left generally proposing scrapping fiscal incentives in real estate and limiting rents while those on the right want to loosen restrictions and incentivise more construction and long-term rentals.
Climate activists interrupted the debate between the leaders of all the parties with parliamentary representation last week, Diário de Notícias reports. “Stopping the climate crisis isn’t on the ballot, it’s in the hands of the people,” one of them yelled, before red paint was later thrown on glass behind the leaders.
Calls for parties to improve immigration support
Experts are challenging Portugal’s political parties to reform its immigration infrastructure, pointing to major problems with bureaucracy and finding legal work for those new to the country, Público reports. There are actually two key grounds across the political divide: reducing the level of irregular immigration and doing a better job of teaching Portuguese to help with integration. But specialists in the area want to see more done to reduce the massive backlog —350,000 in October — of people waiting for their official documentation, and to regulate the jobs market, where some immigrants are preyed upon by smuggling groups and promised work that never comes. The new Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum, which replaced SEF, was described by one as a good idea at an unfortunate time, having sprung into existence at the same time as the “biggest immigration boom ever”.
In brief
Unions representing police forces delay national protest. A group made up of various unions said it did not organise the unregistered march that ended up at the Cápitolio theatre during the debate and promised to “return in force” after the elections. (Público)
Police manifestations spark talk of military protests. Associations representing parts of the armed forces have flagged possible action if they don’t get “very special” attention on the back of police calls for a pay rise. Navy Chief of Staff Admiral Henrique Gouveia e Melo said military taking to the streets would be “completely unacceptable" and “against the democratic regime”. (Diário de Notícias)
Government wants former SEF inspectors to reimburse taxpayers for €713,000 payout to widow of Ukrainian killed in custody in Lisbon Airport. The imprisoned trio claim the decision to pay damages over the death of Ihor Homeniuk was “political” and designed to save face, and are fighting to reduce the amount. (Diário de Notícias)
Three months out from exams, 30,000 students still without teachers. The figure, taken from February 12 to 16, is one of the motives that prompted parents to march on the Education Ministry on Saturday demanding better public schooling. (Diário de Notícias)
On a lighter note
Lisbon’s Estrela parish is set to produce solar power for hundreds of its residents, Público reports. The Electra project is expected to reach 400 residents in the first phase, giving them up to 60% off their electricity bill thanks to solar panels on parish buildings. Applications for the project opened on Friday to Estrela locals but it’s unclear what the exact requirements are. The Junta de Freguesia said it was preparing to launch tenders to install the panels and first needed to gauge the number of people interested in order to cater to demand.