The article was created as part of the Voices of Europe 2024 project, carried out with 27 editorial offices from the European Union. task coordinates Voxeurop.
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In the year of the 50th anniversary of the democratic rally, The Portuguese gave 50 seats in their parliament of the far-right Chega party, based on nostalgia behind Salazar's dictatorship. This symbolic coincidence, which is the 50th anniversary of the carnation revolution and 50 parliamentary seats for Cheg, is asked for interpretation. Above all, Portugal can yet say goodbye to the story of its uniqueness and the feeling that it is immune to the increasing influences of the far right that we are seeing in Europe and the world. It turns out that this phenomenon had to inevitably besides happen in Portugal.
In 2019, erstwhile Chega was formed, she obtained just 1 parliamentary mandate – for André Ventura, organization leader and erstwhile head of centre-right Social Democrats (PSD). In the 2022 election, the number of their seats increased to 12. And on March 10, this year, in the next early elections, Chega won over 4 times as many seats.
Chegi's Flirt with a erstwhile dictatorship appeared at the party's legislature in late 2021, just before the penultimate elections to parliament erstwhile Ventura vacuumed the slogan from Salazar's time: “God, Homeland and Family”, declaring – “We are a organization of God, Homeland and Family... and Labour”.
The upcoming elections to the Europarliament will be held only 3 months after the parliamentary elections – at a time erstwhile , and Portugal deals with the question of who and in what coalition will rule. The strengthened Chega is now the 3rd political force in the country, immediately after the PSD and centre-left PS, which have won 78 seats each, in a gathering of 230 MPs and MPs.
This time, however, PSD decided to stand for election in a coalition with the CDS group, which won only 2 parliamentary seats, and the Monarchist People's organization (PPM). The Democratic Alliance formed by these parties gained 80 seats and 54 000 votes more than the PS, winning the smallest difference of votes in the past of Portuguese democracy. The Portuguese president entrusted the mission of creating a government of the PSD leader Luís Montenegro, and the Secretary-General of PS Pedro Nuno Santos immediately recognized his defeat and assumed the function of opposition leader.
Luis Montenegro will so lead the number government. The right-wing majority will only be possible in cooperation with Chega, but the PSD president during the election run promised that Ventura's organization would not work out in any way. People are already betting on how long the fresh government will stay in power, and it is almost certain that the next elections will take place in Portugal sooner than the planned deadline in 2028. Opposition parties, especially PS and Chega, will gotta seriously consider whether and erstwhile they want to overthrow the Montenegro government, due to the fact that past shows that those who have overthrown Portuguese regulation would then collect whips at the urns.
António Costa, serving as Prime Minister for over 7 years and whose government inactive had an absolute majority in parliament in 2022, resigned on 7 November 2023. In the morning 42 premises were searched on behalf of the D.A., including the cabinet of the Prime Minister and the offices of the Ministries of Environment and Infrastructure. The investigation afraid corruption and irregularities related to lithium and hydrogen projects and a certain data center. Costa knew that a separate procedure was besides pending in his case, initiated by the Portuguese ultimate Court. He considered that he was so incapable to hold the office entrusted to him, resulting in interior shuffling in the PS and earlier parliamentary elections.
Political confusion has blocked the debate on the European elections, which in Portugal usually do not make large emotions and have low attendance. erstwhile again, abroad policy was somewhere at the grey end of organization programs. During the run for March elections in about 30 tv debates between the leaders of the various groups, this issue was almost entirely disregarded.
In January, the European abroad Affairs Council (ECRF), an advisory organisation based in Brussels, predicted that populists could win elections in 9 of the 27 EU associate States, and in the next nine, they would win second or 3rd place. Portugal was included in the second group, forecasting that Chega would gain 4 seats for the Europarliament, where he would join the far right group Identity and Democracy. Given the results of the national elections, it is not presently possible to regulation out that the André Ventura organization will get more seats (Portugal sends 21 representatives to Brussels) and surpass the PS or PSD, and even both parties.
"This is the era of national populism, which along with fresh elections has appeared and in Portugal," says prof. Teresa Nogueira Pinto, specialising in global politics and relations. However, in the EU, Portugal is not as profoundly divided as another EU countries. Unlike partners from the Euro-Parliamentary Identity and Democracy – German AfD, French National Unity or Italian Lega – Chega on European issues and PS or PSD, only "a slight discrepancy of opinion".
During a series of farewell meetings in Brussels, erstwhile Prime Minister Costa noted that "as opposed to another far-right parties in Europe, Chega had never advocated against the EU". But even if Chega did not make her own nationalist, identity and hostile narration migrants, present it is evident that she is willingly taking over from right-wing populists from another European countries.
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Helder Gomes He works as a writer in the global affairs section of the magazine “Expresso”. He writes about national policy and, in particular, about the increase in Cheg's popularity. In the past he worked for the UN radio station in fresh York City and at Euronews, Lyon.
From English she translated Catherine the Formers.
