The center-right opposition won the legislative elections this Sunday March 10 in Portugal, after eight years of socialist government. The Socialists come in second place, close to the Democratic Alliance (AD). The Parliament of the Iberian country is shifting to the right with a new surge from the far right, according to several exit polls.
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The center-right Democratic Alliance (AD) led by Luis Montenegro, 51, would have won Sunday’s elections with 29 to 33% of the vote, but would not be able to form a majority on its own. A long-time deputy then parliamentary group leader when his party was in power (2011-2015), Luis Montenegro pledged during the campaign not to form a government with the support of the far right.
He hoped to rely on the small Liberal Initiative party, credited with 5 to 7% of the vote, but the two parties seemed far from reaching the threshold of 116 deputies out of 230 seats, synonymous with an absolute majority.
The Socialist Party (PS), which had obtained an absolute majority during the previous legislative elections in January 2022 with a score of 41.4%, would now come in second position with 25 to 29%. After the departure of Antonio Costa, the PS regrouped around Pedro Nuno Santos, a 46-year-old former minister from its left wing.
Despite the consolidation of public finances, growth above the European average and unemployment at its lowest, the record of the outgoing socialist government was tarnished by inflation, dysfunctions in hospitals and schools, then by a major crisis housing.
Strong push from the far right
Three months before the European elections, this election precipitated by the resignation of outgoing Prime Minister Antonio Costa, who was not seeking a new mandate, confirms that the far right is making progress across the Old Continent. Portugal was one of the few countries in Europe to be ruled by the left when Antonio Costa, 62, threw in the towel after being named in an investigation for influence peddling at the beginning of November.
The leader of the Portuguese far right, André Ventura, immediately welcomed “ an absolutely historic result “, saying to yourself “ available ” For ” give a stable government to Portugal » within « a strong majority on the right “.
His anti-system party Chega -translate: enough- would have obtained between 14 and 17% of the votes, double the previous legislative elections of January 2022 (7.2%) but in line with the forecasts of pre-electoral surveys. At the end of a vote also marked by a clear increase in participation, his parliamentary group, which included a dozen deputies, could exceed forty elected officials.
This new breakthrough for the far right comes as Portugal next month commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Carnation Revolution, which ended the fascist dictatorship and 13 years of colonial wars.
Read alsoLegislative elections in Portugal: with André Ventura, the extreme right returns to the forefront of the political scene