The Portuguese exception is over. In the elections held on May 18, the country experienced a clear shift to the Right: the conservative coalition Democratic Alliance (AD) emerged as the leading force (32 percent of the votes), while the Socialist Party (PS) barely edged out the far-right Chega (“Enough!”) for second place, each with around 23 percent. The radical left suffered a collapse: even added together, the Communist Party and the Left Bloc amounted to just 5 percent of the vote.
In November 2023, then prime minister António Costa, a Socialist, resigned after being accused of corruption. That marked the end of eight years of progressive governments that had made Portugal — alongside Spain — an inspiration for the European left, and the beginning of a period of rare political instability in the small Iberian country. After a year-and-a-half-long judicial inquiry, no proof has been found to sustain the accusations against Costa, which have raised suspicions of a lawfare case.
Since Costa’s resignation, there have been three elections in three years, during which the Left has steadily lost ground and Chega has risen rapidly. The far-right party, founded in 2019, made its national breakthrough in 2022 by winning 7 percent of the vote. Last Sunday’s election marked the culmination of this trend. In the words of Chega’s leader, André Ventura, “Today we can officially and confidently declare to the whole country that bipartisanship is over.” He’s right: the near-tied race between Chega and the Socialists marks a break with the electoral dynamic that has defined Portuguese politics since the restoration of democracy in the 1970s.
Last Sunday’s election was called early after conservative prime minister Luís Montenegro…
Auteur: Pablo Castaño
