In the snap general elections held in Portugal on March 10, Sunday, the conservative Democratic Alliance (AD) coalition, led by the Social Democratic Party (PSD), emerged as the single largest party with 79 seats in the 230-seat Assembly of the Republic.
The coalition displaced the ruling Socialist Party (PS) which lost 43 seats and was confined to 77 seats. Meanwhile, the far-right Chega quadrupled its previous tally of 12 seats to 48 and secured 18.1% of the votes.
The Portuguese Communist Party (PCP)-led CDU coalition and the Left Bloc (BE) did not fare well in the polls and obtained just four and five seats respectively. The Liberal Initiative (IL) secured eight seats, while environmentalist and animal rights groups like LIVRE and PAN secured four and one seat respectively. Around 66.2% of the registered voters turned up for the polls.
Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa called fresh elections in the country when the Socialist Party (PS) government headed by Prime Minister António Costa resigned in November 2023, over alleged corruption charges against Costa and some of his ministers and officials.
The allegations pertain to the awarding of lithium exploration concessions in Montalegre and Boticas and the green hydrogen and data center projects in Sines. Searches have been conducted at the prime minister’s official residence as well. The scandal ended António Costa’s 8-year stint as prime minister.
The allegations, along with issues such as the cost of living crisis and housing, are believed to have turned many Portuguese against the establishment parties, a sentiment the far-right Chega cashed in on.
As no single party or coalition got the necessary simple majority to form a government, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa is likely to call PSD leader Luis Montenegro who already expressed his desire to form a minority government. Montenegro expects support from the smaller liberal and green parties while shunning possibilities of power-sharing with the Socialist Party and Chega.
The far-right Chega was founded by ex-PSD politician André Ventura in 2019. The party entered parliament with one seat in 2019 and secured 12 seats in 2022, spearheading a hyper-nationalistic, Islamophobic, and anti-refugee campaign. Chega’s far-right Iberian counterpart, the Vox party in Spain, lauded the former’s gains in the Portuguese elections.
Meanwhile, leftist sections, especially the communists, have called for greater vigil against the rise of the far-right in the country.
On March 11, the General Secretary of the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP), Paulo Raimundo, stated that the advances by the PSD-led coalition were intricately linked to the actions of the earlier government and the promotion of right-wing policies. He said that these policies had led to workers and the population in general facing difficulties and the subsequent discontent had worked to the advantage of the likes of Chega.
He added that the CDU’s own results were a negative development but were nonetheless an expression of resistance, which had all the more value and meaning since it had to face hostility, including propaganda that stoked anti-communist prejudices.
