葡萄牙里斯本-葡萄牙里斯本(美联社)——葡萄牙选民周日在地方选举中投票，经过一轮投票后，里斯本市长选举备受关注上个月致命的电车相撞事故。
中右翼联盟领导人卡洛斯·莫达斯市长在四年任期的市政选举中与中左翼法律教授亚历山德拉·雷托竞争。
投票是在包括11名游客在内的16人在9月3日的电车撞车事故，引起了公众的强烈抗议。Moedas拒绝任何指责，拒绝辞职。
运营有轨电车服务和其他城市公共交通的Carris公司受里斯本市议会监管。
但许多人表示，他们的投票更多地受到金融城其他问题的影响，比如住房政策和垃圾收集，因为里斯本在游客激增和房地产价格飙升的压力下步履维艰。
72岁的杰瑟·若萨说:“交通混乱，一片狼藉，垃圾是我们多年未见的。”。“当然，垃圾问题是一系列原因造成的，但它需要规划。政治不仅仅是面对问题时的表现，而是对问题的预测。”
他说，他的投票不会受到电车事故的影响。
对桑德拉·阿尔梅达来说，主要问题之一是住房。“我们里斯本人，我们不能住在里斯本，我们被驱逐出我们自己的城市，”她说。她说，电车事故也不会影响她的投票。“这是一个意外，我认为这与政党无关。”
对事故的官方调查集中在维护不善是否是电车刹车和安全索问题的原因。
“我们在谈论机械故障，而不是政治责任，”Moedas在选举前说。
他拒绝在周日选举前与市议员召开会议讨论坠机事件，称他不希望悲剧变成政治足球。
里斯本选民Ana Btelho说，电车事故“只是加强了我对市政厅代表我们的人的看法，我认为他代表我们非常糟糕。”
55岁的Moedas被视为葡萄牙中右翼社会民主党的一颗新星，并被广泛认为是潜在的未来总理。在获得哈佛MBA学位后，Moedas为高盛工作，后来建立了自己的投资管理基金。
在短暂担任初级政府部长和议员后，他于2014年成为负责欧盟研究、创新和科学部门的欧盟专员。四年前，他当选市长，这是那些觊觎更高职位的政客们常见的职业道路，对首都的政治责任被视为垫脚石。
Portugal holds municipal elections with attention on Lisbon after streetcar crash
LISBON, Portugal --LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Voters in Portugal cast ballots Sunday in local elections, with attention on the mayoral race in Lisbon after adeadly streetcar crash last month.
Mayor Carlos Moedas, head of a right-of-center coalition, faces left-of-center Alexandra Leitão, a law professor, in the municipal race for a four-year term.
The vote comes after 16 people including 11 tourists were killed in astreetcar crash Sept. 3,causing a public outcry. Moedas rejected any blame and refused to resign.
Carris, the company operating the streetcar service and other public transport in the city, is overseen by Lisbon City Council.
But many say their vote is influenced far more by other issues in the city, such ashousing policiesand trash collection as Lisbon creaks under the strain of a surge in tourists and a steep climb in real estate prices.
“Chaotic traffic, a total mess, garbage like we hadn’t seen in many years," said José Rosa, 72. "Of course this garbage issue is the result of a series of reasons but it needs planning. Politics is not just about performing in the face of issues, it is about anticipating them.”
His vote would not be influenced by the streetcar crash, he said.
For Sandra Almeida, one of the main issues is housing. “Us Lisbonites, we cannot live in Lisbon, we are being expelled from our own city,” she said. The streetcar crash would not influence her vote either, she said. "It was an accident that happened, I think it’s not related to political parties.”
An official investigation into the crash is focusing on whether poor maintenance was to blame for problems with the streetcar’s brakes and a safety cable.
“We’re talking about mechanical failures, not political responsibility,” Moedas said before the election.
He refused to convene a session with city councilors to discuss the crash before Sunday’s election, saying he didn’t want the tragedy to become a political football.
Lisbon voter Ana Btelho said the streetcar crash “only reinforced my opinion of the person representing us on the City Hall at the moment, and I think he represents us quite badly.”
Moedas, 55, is viewed as a rising star in Portugal’s center-right Social Democratic Party and widely regarded as a potential future prime minister. After earning a Harvard MBA, Moedas worked for Goldman Sachs and later set up his own investment management fund.
After a brief spell as a junior government minister and as a lawmaker, he became in 2014 a European commissioner in charge of the bloc’s research, innovation and science arm. His election as mayor four years ago was a common career route for politicians eyeing higher office, with political responsibility for the capital regarded as a steppingstone.
