Portugal's
far-right Chega party becomes second biggest in parliament
Europe
Portugal's
far-right Chega party has become the government's largest opposition party
according to final results from Portugal's snap general election published on
Wednesday. Support for Chega has grown in every general election since the
party was founded in 2019 by former television football commentator Andre
Ventura.
Issued on:
29/05/2025 - 04:41
Modified:
29/05/2025 - 04:39
Portugal's
far-right Chega party won second place in snap elections last week, according
to final results published Wednesday, making it the official opposition party
in the country just six years after its creation.
Chega, which
means "Enough", and the left-wing Socialist Party (PS) had been level
on 58 seats after the provisional results from the May 18 poll.
But the
far-right party won two of the previously unannounced four overseas
constituencies, taking its tally to 60.
The
centre-right Democratic Alliance (AD) claimed the other two overseas seats
taking its total to 91, still far from the 116 seats needed to form a majority
government. The Social Democratic Party of outgoing prime minister Luis
Montenegro is the main party of the alliance.
"It is
a big victory," said Chega founder and leader Andre Ventura, claiming that
it "marks a profound change in the Portuguese political system".
Montenegro
is expected to try to form a minority government after the latest election and
he has said he will not deal with Chega. But Ventura called on Montenegro to
"break" with the Socialists.
"Portugal
is moving in line with the European trend" for a "protest vote"
and "anti-establishment sentiment", said Paula Espirito Santo at
Lisbon University's Higher Institute of Social and Political Sciences.
'Divine
mission'
Support for
Chega has grown in every general election since the party was founded in 2019
by Ventura, a former trainee priest who later became a television football
commentator.
It won 1.3
percent of the vote in a general election the year it was founded, giving it a
seat in parliament -- the first time a far-right party had won representation
in Portugal's legislature since a coup in 1974 toppled a decades-long rightist
dictatorship.
Chega became
the third-largest force in parliament in the next general election in 2022 and
quadrupled its parliamentary seats last year to 50, cementing its place in
Portugal's political landscape and mirroring gains by similar parties across
Europe.
Chega's
policies include chemical castration for paedophiles, limiting newcomers'
access to welfare benefits, and stricter controls on migration which it links
to crime and higher pensions.
Ventura
attended US President Donald Trump's inauguration in January, and has embraced
the support of Brazil's former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro.
He speaks of
restoring respect for the police, and has protested on the streets with
Movement Zero, a group of disgruntled police officers with suspected extremist
ties who are demanding better pay and conditions.
"In
politics, you have to be different. And I wanted to be different," Ventura
once said of himself, before adding that his path had been guided by a
"divine mission".
'Fundamental
shift'
When
preliminary election results came in last week, Ventura said he was confident
his party would eventually finish ahead of the PS.
"Nothing
will ever be the same again," Ventura told his supporters, who chanted
"Portugal is ours and it always will be".
"This
is indeed a fundamental shift," said analyst Espirito Santo.
"We
cannot say that Chega will lose ground in the coming years... It looks as
though Chega is here to stay for a while."
Many voters
"certainly support the radical and anti-establishment solutions that Chega
proposes" but others may have chosen the party "because of the
erosion of the traditional parties' ability to meet expectations", she
said.
The future
of the Socialist Party meanwhile remains "unpredictable", Espirito
Santo said.
Party leader
Pedro Nuno Santos, a 48-year-old economist, said he would stand down after the
initial election results were announced.
Under a
previous PS government, Portugal became one of Europe's most open countries for
immigrants. Between 2017 and 2024, the number of foreigners living in Portugal
quadrupled, reaching about 15 percent of the total population.
President
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa is to hold new talks with the leaders of the three main
parties on Thursday and could name a new prime minister during the day.
(FRANCE 24
with AFP)
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