In 1987, Cavaco Silva benefited from the goodwill of the president in office and went to elections after the approval of a motion of censure. It could have been different if Mário Soares had accepted Vitor Constâncio’s proposal to inaugurate a PS, PRD and PCP government. Cavaco’s luck is that Soares didn’t like Constâncio and the PSD obtained the first absolute majority. Four years later, having experienced governing in a minority (1985/87) and a majority (1987/1991), Cavaco decided to speak clearly to the electorate and explained that he would not govern if he were in the minority again. In other words, he required an absolute majority to govern.
