LISBON
\nPortugal\u2019s general election campaign ends on Friday for a vote that Prime Minister Luis Montenegro is expected to win but with no guarantee he can form a more stable government. Montenegro\u2019s centre-right Democratic Alliance (AD) is tipped to win 32.5 percent of the vote, ahead of the Socialist Party (PS) on 26.5 percent, according to a poll of polls by Radio Renascenca.
\nThe recently formed far-right Chega (\u201cEnough\u201d) party could take 17.6 percent of the vote \u2014 almost the same as it did in March 2024 elections \u2014 to consolidate its position as Portugal\u2019s third political force. Montenegro as a result risks finding himself again at the head of a minority government, caught between the PS, which was in power from 2015 to 2024, and Chega, with which he has refused to govern.
\nSunday\u2019s election was called in March after the 52-year-old lawyer lost a vote of confidence in parliament following criticism that his consultancy firm created conflicts of interest.As such, \u201cstaying in power would already be a good result\u201d for the prime minister, who took a \u201ccalculated risk\u201d in the hope of strengthening his parliamentary seat, political commentator Paula Espirito Santo told media.
\nOpinion polls appear to indicate an AD majority is unlikely but Montenegro could win the support of the Liberal Initiative party, which is predicted to secure 6.4 percent of the vote.\u201dWhat we want is a bigger majority,\u201d said Montenegro on Friday.The socialist candidate Pedro Nuno Santos, a 48-year-old economist, has again accused Montenegro of having engineered elections \u201cto avoid explaining himself\u201d about his consultancy firm to a parliamentary inquiry.
\nFaced with the risk of persistent instability, analysts and voters criticised a political class out of touch with voters unenthused by the prospect of another ballot. \u201cI\u2019ve really had enough of all these political games. They don\u2019t do anything for us,\u201d said Maria Pereira, a 53-year-old saleswoman in a working-class district of Lisbon. \u201cNormally I vote for the small parties but this time I\u2019m not going to waste my time going to vote.\u201d
\n\u201cThese elections could have been avoided,\u201d added Pedro Paulos, a 43-year-old private hire driver.\u201d Last year I voted for the AD. Now it\u2019s likely that I\u2019ll vote for Chega because I want a real change,\u201d he said, adding that he was \u201cagainst uncontrolled immigration\u201d. <\/p>\n
Under the socialists, Portugal became one of Europe\u2019s most open countries but Montenegro\u2019s government has since strengthened immigration policy.
\nBetween 2017 and 2024, the number of foreigners living in Portugal quadrupled, reaching about 15 percent of the total population. Immigration and suspicions about the prime minister might be fertile ground for the far right. But Chega has also faced embarrassment, including claims that one of its lawmakers in the Azores stole luggage from airport carousels.
\nIts campaign was interrupted on Tuesday and Thursday when its president, 42-year-old former football commentator Andre Ventura, fell ill.All political campaigning has to stop at midnight (2300 GMT Friday) before Sunday\u2019s poll. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LISBON Portugal\u2019s general election campaign ends on Friday for a vote that Prime Minister Luis Montenegro is expected to win but with no guarantee he can form a more stable government. Montenegro\u2019s centre-right Democratic Alliance (AD) is tipped to win 32.5 percent of the vote, ahead of the Socialist Party (PS) on 26.5 percent, according […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":479031,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-478996","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n