Portugal PM quits after police raid his official residence

António Costa, Portugal’s Socialist prime minister, has been in power since 2015, won an absolute majority in the country’s parliament in 2022 and was seen as a contender for the post of European Council president when it comes up next year. No longer. Costa resigned suddenly on Tuesday, after police searched his official residence and other government buildings as part of a corruption probe linked to lithium mines – a key factor in Europe’s plans for its electric vehicle industry – and a green-hydrogen project. His chief of staff was detained and the country’s infrastructure minister and the head of its environmental agency were named as suspects. It now falls to President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa to decide whether to appoint another prime minister or dissolve parliament and call elections (he’ll give more detail in a speech tomorrow). Costa denies wrongdoing.