PORTUGUESE PM DEFENDS ACADEMIC RECORD

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LISBON 000975

SIPDIS

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C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (Classified by line added)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/13/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL PO
SUBJECT: PORTUGUESE PM DEFENDS ACADEMIC RECORD


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Classified by: Dana Brown Pol/Econ Officer for reasons
1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: On his two year anniversary as Prime
Minister, Jose Socrates held a 90-minute interview on
national television to recap the highlights of his tenure.
Nevertheless, almost half of the interview focused on the
controversy surrounding his higher education history and the
rumors that he received special treatment during his course
work. After defending his education record, Socrates went on
to outline several of his administration's achievements,
especially economic reform. End summary.

Education Investigation Turns Personal
--------------


2. (U) In late March, local newspapers "Expresso" and
"Publico" published articles citing several discrepancies in
documents on Prime Minister Jose Socrates' educational
background during the course of a broader investigation into
his alma mater, Independent University (Universidade
Independente). Specifically, the press charged Socrates with
failing to follow admission procedures when transferring to
Universidade Independente in 1995 (when he was a member of
parliament and shortly before being named secretary of state
in the Ministry of Environment); claiming a higher degree
than he had on official paperwork; and offering a senior
government position to a former professor. The story caught
the public's attention and gained momentum, increasingly
drawing concern from the Socialist Party (PS) officials;
however, Socrates did not publicly defend his record.


3. (U) On April 11, in an interview originally scheduled to
discuss his first two years in office, Socrates strongly
refuted claims that he had received special treatment due to
his political visibility at the time. He stressed that he
was proud of his academic record -- seven-and-a-half
post-secondary years of study in civil engineering and
business adminstration -- and had done everything expected of
any student: attend classes, pay fees, and take exams. He
produced numerous documents to support his position, and
denied that the speculation had damaged his political
standing.


4. (U) Asked why he had not said anything earlier, Socrates
claimed he thought it best to wait for the Ministry of Higher
Education to conclude its investigation of corruption
allegations involving Universidade Independente before
addressing the personal accusations. With that investigation
now concluded, Socrates felt comfortable providing his side
of the story. The Prime Minister said he had transferred
from another institutionto be able to complete his degree
faster and that his Justice Minister had selected a former
professor for a Director General position in the Justice
Ministry without Socrates' knowledge.

Socrates Highlights Successes
--------------


5. (U) After a full forty-minute defense of his educational
background, Socrates moved into more familiar territory --
his Administration's policy successes. He responded to
questions about his economic policy by explaining that
Portugal was recovering and headed in the right direction.
He asserted that the 1.3% GDP growth for 2006 was judged
"timid" by critics but was in fact better growth than the
2002-2005 period combined (note: and had exceeded everyone's
expectations.) In a reversal of normal political promises,
he vowed not to cut taxes in 2009 to curry favor for his
party and said he was focused on keeping Portugal on the
reform track, even though it had cost his party votes in
local elections. Socrates also mentioned that the government
was cutting back on select services, most notably in
underutilized hospitals and schools, to concentrate resources
and improve service overall. He stressed that, although
leftists criticized his Administration as too conservative,
his government had passed progressive measures including a
parity law to ensure more representation for women in
government, and passed the law to legalize abortion in
keeping with other European nations. Socrates said it was
too early to decide whether he would run for re-election in

2009.

Comment
--------------


6. (C) More than one-and-a-half million Portuguese (more than
fifteen percent of the population and forty percent of all
Portuguese watching television at the time) tuned in to watch
the first part of the interview, but the audience dropped
significantly when the discussion turned away from his
education record, an indication of how much attention this
issue has garnered in the last several weeks. The decision
to wait so long to address the allegations publicly was
probably a political miscalculation, the Prime Minister's
explanation notwithstanding. Socrates was clearly more

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Classified by Dana Brown Pol/Econ Officer by reasons
1.4 (b) and (d)

comfortable in the interview discussing his achievements as
Prime Minister than he was defending his academic record, but
he probably did an adequate enough job addressing the
concerns that have been raised. An influential professor and
PS member who admires Socrates told us it is clear the Prime
Minister transferred institutions because Universidade
Independente was easier and that UI had granted him special
treatment by not requiring him to submit the paperwork
required of all other transferring students. That said, the
Prime Minister would likely survive this political challenge,
so long as the general electorate continues to approve of his
job performance and so long as no subsequent information
emerges that Socrates has not told the truth.
O'Neal