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Portugal's center-right Democratic Union party narrowly won Sunday's parliamentary elections, but fell far short of a majority, with far-right party Chega emerging as the likely kingmaker.
Chega, xenophobic anti-establishment party Led by Andre Venturarecorded the biggest increase in votes for the ruling Socialist Party as it collapsed from its 2022 victory and the centre-right party maintained its support.
The result marks another important step forward for the EU's right, which has seen conservatives win elections or form coalition governments in Italy, Greece, Sweden and Finland over the past two years.
But it's also a pitch Portugal We enter a period of political uncertainty and potential instability.
Luis Montenegro, leader of the Democratic Alliance (AD), insisted early on Monday that he would stick to his pledge not to strike a deal with Chega, even if doing so could create a conservative majority.
“Of course I will keep my word,” Montenegro said. „I do not intend to do anything wrong to myself, my party, my country so much as not to fulfill the promises I have clearly made.'' During the election campaign, Montenegro said that Mr. Chega's views were „often.'' called it racist and xenophobic.
Another way a center-right leader could come to power is if the Socialist Party (PS) abstains from a parliamentary vote on forming a government, leaving it to a leader to govern without Chega's support.
The Socialist Party conceded defeat in the early hours of Monday, ending eight years in power after a snap vote sparked by a corruption scandal. Prime Minister Antonio Costa resigns.
With 99% of votes counted, the Socialist Party's vote share was 28.7%, down from just over 41% in 2022, but the Democratic Alliance held a narrow lead at 29.5%.
Ventura immediately began his bid to enter government after securing 18% of the vote (up from 7% in 2022) and cementing Chega's position as Portugal's third-largest party.
„We are ready to provide Portugal with a stable government,“ he said. “AD demanded a majority. Today Portuguese people spoke out and said they want a two-party system with AD and Chega.”
Asked if he would call Montenegro on election night, Ventura said, „Let's see. I'm going to call my mom now.“
Socialist Party leader Pedro Nuno Santos suggested his party would make it possible to form a government in Montenegro without Chega, saying: „We will not make it impossible to form a government.“ But he also suggested that the Socialist Party would provide little aid after that. „Don't ask us to support the government,“ he said.
Montenegro himself said: “I understand that the PS does not sympathize with the program that we are trying to present. What we want from the PS is to respect the will of the Portuguese people. Chega will not ally with us to overthrow the government.”
The decision to name a new prime minister has been left to Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who is expected to make a nomination in the coming days after consulting with political parties. It could take one to two weeks for the selected candidates to form a government.
Mr. Ventura immediately expressed his plea to Mr. Rebelo de Sousa, referring to the presidential palace, saying: „This is a victory that should be heard in the Belem Palace.“
Socialist leader Santos said: „Chega has had consequences that cannot be ignored. It's not that 18 percent of Portuguese people are racist, but there are many angry Portuguese people. We are the Portuguese people. I want to regain that trust.”
![Andre Ventura, leader of Chega](https://www.ft.com/__origami/service/image/v2/images/raw/https%3A%2F%2Fd1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net%2Fproduction%2F67f49195-df02-48d7-a35e-d2dfc2b9e2fb.jpg?source=next-article&fit=scale-down&quality=highest&width=700&dpr=1)
![Andre Ventura, leader of Chega](https://www.ft.com/__origami/service/image/v2/images/raw/https%3A%2F%2Fd1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net%2Fproduction%2F67f49195-df02-48d7-a35e-d2dfc2b9e2fb.jpg?source=next-article&fit=scale-down&quality=highest&width=700&dpr=1)
The election was called on a day when police arrested five people and raided 43 government buildings and homes in an investigation into corruption allegations linked to investment projects, following Prime Minister Costa's resignation in November. . Costa has not been formally charged with any wrongdoing, but prosecutors are still investigating.
Mr. Chega has been a fierce critic of Portugal's two mainstream political parties, and the corruption scandal has played entirely into Mr. Ventura's hands. But he stirred even more passion with his attacks on immigrants and Portugal's small Roma community.
The election was also marked by voter anger over the cost-of-living crisis, with housing costs soaring due in part to an influx of foreign buyers, leaving millions of Portuguese struggling to afford decent housing. It was spot on.
On the campaign trail, Montenegro said his socialist party was squandering the chance to win a parliamentary majority in 2022, and trashed the idea that the center-left had ended the era of austerity.
„Maximum taxes, minimum public services. What could be more strict than that?“ Montenegro said. „We are at the bottom of Europe in terms of per capita income. What could be more strict than that?“
The Democratic Alliance is more moderate than many of Europe's mainstream conservative parties, but has vowed to break nearly a decade of centre-left dominance by cutting taxes and further encouraging the private sector.