Far-right Chega party becomes main opposition in Portugal

Far-right Chega party becomes main opposition in Portugal

Barney Jopson in Madrid and Sérgio Aníbal in Lisbon

https://www.ft.com/content/6f63a465-9edf-4412-9f46-952471f2c22b

 

Portugal’s far-right Chega party has become the country’s main opposition after final votes were counted in this month’s parliamentary election, a landmark moment that ends 50 years of dominance by two centrist forces.

 

The second place for Chega, led by former trainee priest and football pundit André Ventura, was announced on Wednesday after it came first among overseas citizens, whose votes were the last to be counted.

 

The final results consigned the centre-left Socialists to third place and confirmed that incumbent centre-right Prime Minister Luís Montenegro had fallen short of a majority, making it likely he would lead another fragile minority government.

 

Since his first election campaign just over a year ago, Montenegro has ruled out governing in a coalition with Chega, which he has described as irresponsible and unreliable.

 

But the far-right’s strong showing will put the premier under pressure to harden his own stance on Chega issues — chiefly immigration — and seek its votes to pass certain pieces of legislation.

 

Ventura told reporters this week that his main concern is “the role Chega will play in reshaping immigration and security policies and in revising the constitution”, a 49-year-old document written when most political parties leaned to the left after the end of Portugal’s fascist dictatorship.

 

Ventura’s party has ended up with 60 seats in Portugal’s 230-seat parliament, compared with 91 for Montenegro’s centre-right Democratic Alliance (AD) group and 58 for the Socialists (PS).

 

Since the May 18 election, called by Montenegro after he lost a confidence vote triggered by conflict of interest allegations, Ventura “has become calmer, his words have been more controlled, he’s not been so aggressive”, said Paula Espírito Santo, a political-science professor at Lisbon university.

 

As opposition leader he will try to walk a fine line, analysts say, adopting uncompromising positions as he tries to hold Montenegro to account but also honing a new image of responsibility as a leader-in-waiting.

 

“It looks like he’s preparing for the next step, for the next election, where he could go even higher and even become prime minister,” said Espírito Santo.

 

Ventura has become a political force over the past five years with harsh rhetoric against immigrants and Portugal’s Roma community, while also attacking corruption and Lisbon’s entrenched political duopoly.

 

He has continued to attack the two mainstream parties this week, warning Montenegro against repeating deals he struck with the Socialists in 2024 to take office and pass a budget.

 

Ventura said: “Montenegro will have to choose between maintaining the status quo — that is, keeping everything the same despite the vote, which would be the same arrangement between the PS and [AD] we’ve seen for the past 50 years — or enabling a qualitative leap in the political dynamics.”