By Edward Louis Johnson
On the 10th of March, Portugal held a legislative election. The ruling Socialist Party (Partido Socialista, PS), failed to pass its budget through parliament, due to their usual left-wing allies in parliament finding said budget’s spending commitments too low. Prior to the failed budget, a corruption investigation into socialist Prime Minister António Costa began, leading to a major decline in support, and Costa’s resignation. Between the failed budget and the resignation, PS was forced to call a snap election. Several right-wing parties revived the coalition called Democratic Alliance (Aliança Democrática, AD), which last ran for election in 1983. The Social Democratic Party (Partido Social Democrata, PSD) is the main member of the Democratic Alliance, having the vast majority of the seats and being the opposition leader prior to the election. Far-right Chega had favorable results in the polls ahead of the election. Other smaller left and liberal parties remained roughly the same.
The Democratic Alliance won 80 seats, an increase of 3 seats, however, it lost votes. The Socialist Party lost 42 seats (a third of their previous mandate), and suffered a >10% drop in the popular vote. This brings them down to being the 2nd largest party, with 2 less seats than AD. Chega gained nearly 10%, winning a total of 50 seats, 38 seats more than in the 2022 elections. The Communist Party lost 2 seats, bringing them down to only 4. Centre-left to left-wing LIVRE gained 3 seats. Other parties had the same results in terms of seat share and vote share with centre-left People-Animals-Nature seeing minor differences.
Luís Montenegro, leader of PSD and head of the Democratic Alliance is now the 120th Prime Minister of Portugal. However, since AD did not achieve an absolute majority, it must find support amongst other parties to govern effectively. Montenegro has stated he will not seek the support from far-right Chega, calling the party xenophobic and racist. Such comments leave little common ground to work with. The Democratic Alliance is left with few alternatives; Collaborating with PS, now acting as the opposition leader, is not seen as an option. If Luís Montenegro wishes to avoid a sharp decline like the Socialist Party suffered in this election, he must find allies - and fast.
References:
Euronews:
Portuguese Justice Ministry:
The BBC: