Earth Party

The Earth Party Movement – Earth Party
Movimento o Partido da Terra – Partido da Terra
President José Inácio Faria[1]
Honorary President Gonçalo Ribeiro Telles
Founded 12 August 1993
Headquarters Lisbon
Youth wing Juventude pela Terra
Ideology Green conservatism
Green liberalism
Green politics
Eco-capitalism
Agrarianism
Political position Centre-right[2]
European affiliation Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe
International affiliation World Ecological Parties
European Parliament group Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe
Colours Green
Assembly of the Republic
0 / 230
European Parliament
1 / 21
Regional Parliaments
1 / 104
Local
Government
2 / 2,086
Website
http://www.mpt.pt/
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The Earth Party (Portuguese: Partido da Terra, pronounced: [pɐɾˈtiðu ðɐ ˈtɛʁɐ]), previously called The Earth Party Movement, Movimento o Partido da Terra, abbreviated MPT (hence called MPT – Partido da Terra), is a green conservative[3] political party in Portugal, founded on 12 August 1993.

Between 2005 and 2009, the party had two Deputies in the Assembly of the Republic: Pedro Quartin Graça and Luís Carloto Marques, elected on the lists of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), following an agreement with its then leader, Pedro Santana Lopes.

The President of the party is José Inácio Faria, elected in the IX Party Conference on 10 November 2014 and the Honorary President is Gonçalo Ribeiro Telles.

The party has participated in a number of coalitions with the major centre-right parties in Portugal, namely the PSD and People's Party (CDS–PP). The MPT is a member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE)[4] and ALDE Group in the European Parliament.[5]

2009 European Parliament elections

In April 2009, the party announced in a joint press conference with the leader of the pan-European alliance Libertas.eu Declan Ganley that it would run for the 2009 European Parliament election with an open electoral list under the banner of Libertas.[6] While not against European integration, MPT demands more accountability and transparency from the European Union, and the pursuit of a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty in Portugal.[7] In the elections, MPT received 24,062 votes (0.67% of the votes).

2009 Legislative elections

For the 2009 Portuguese legislative election, MPT formed a coalition with the Humanist Party on mainland Portugal that received 0.22% of the votes. Including MPT's votes in Azores and Madeira, where they ran a list on their own, they reached 0.28% nationwide. However, the 2009 local elections were a success in terms of number of people elected, as MPT won 2 councillor, 17 municipal assembly members and 47 parish councillor posts.

2011 Elections

In the 2011 Portuguese legislative election, MPT stood under its own open lists throughout Portugal and achieved 0.41% of the national vote, catapulting it from 14th to 8th place overall in comparison to the 2009 Portuguese legislative election. This was largely due to its more professional campaigning – it employed a campaign manager for the first time – and the inclusion in its lists of a number of popular celebrities.

In the 2011 Madeira regional election the Party elected one Legislative Assembly member despite a fall in its number of votes of 0.3%.

2014 European Parliament elections

MPT achieved its first major electoral success independent of any coalition, in the 2014 European Parliament election, winning 7.14% of the vote and electing two MEPs: the former Chairman of the Portuguese Bar Association António Marinho e Pinto (who subsequently was invited to leave the party) and the lawyer José Inácio Faria.

On 21 November 2014, the MPT was admitted as a full member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) at the ALDE congress in Lisbon.[8]

2014 Party Congress

MPT held its IX Party Congress on 22 November 2014 in Lisbon, where incumbent president John Rosas Baker announced his intention not to stand for reelection and was replaced by MEP José Inácio Faria.

2015 Legislative elections

The party contested the 2015 Portuguese legislative election under its own open lists but failed to improve on its 2009 Portuguese legislative election result, gaining less than 0.5% of the popular vote and failing to elect any MP to the Assembly of the Republic.

References

  1. ↑ "Eurodeputado eleito presidente do MPT". publico.pt. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  2. ↑ Tom Lansford, ed. (2013). Political Handbook of the World 2013. SAGE Publications. p. 1172. ISBN 978-1-4522-5825-6.
  3. ↑ José M. Magone (2015). "Portugal". In Donatella M. Viola. Routledge Handbook of European Elections. Routledge. p. 364. ISBN 978-1-317-50363-7.
  4. ↑ "ALDE Party members | ALDE Party". ALDE Party | Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  5. ↑ "ALDE Across Europe: Portugal". Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe – ALDE Group. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  6. ↑ "Libertas and MPT announce European election partnership", 27 April 2009, http://www.libertas.eu/
  7. ↑ "Europeias: MPT quer referendo em Portugal e é contra Tratado de Lisboa", 27 April 2009, Correio do Minho
  8. ↑ "ALDE Party welcomes new member parties". aldeparty.eu. Retrieved 15 October 2016.

External links

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