Alliance Democratic (AD) leader Luis Montenegro celebrates his victory as he addresses supporters at party headquarters on election night in Lisbon, March 10, 2024.
Miguel Riopa | Afp | Getty Images
The result – which saw the Chega party’s parliamentary representation quadruple to at least 48 lawmakers – gives the political right a combined majority.
The result means that Chega can play an influential role in the formation of a new administration.
Luis Montenegro, head of the Social Democratic Party, which leads the Democratic Alliance, had previously ruled out ruling with Chega and reiterated that position in the early hours of Monday.
Earlier, left-wing Socialist Party leader Pedro Nuno Santos conceded defeat, saying the party in power since 2015 would not support the Democratic Alliance’s platform.
Socialist Party leader Pedro Nunu Santos addresses supporters at the party’s election night event in Lisbon on March 10, 2024.
Patricia De Mello Moreira | Afp | Getty Images
Chega leader Andre Ventura told reporters that Sunday’s vote “clearly showed that the Portuguese want an AD government [Democratic Alliance] with Chega,” according to Reuters. Ventura said Montenegro would be responsible for any political instability if he refused to negotiate with Chega.
The party’s political success confirms the political movement to the right across the continent. Observers have been closely watching Portugal’s election result as a potential leader ahead of June’s European Parliament elections.
Portugal’s election was held on Sunday following the sudden resignation of Socialist Prime Minister Antonio Costa in November amid a corruption investigation.
Vicente Valentim, a political scientist at the University of Oxford in England, described the vote as “somewhat of a defining moment for the country”.
In a post on social media platform X, Valentim said Monday: “Portuguese elections yesterday highlight a common trend: support for the far right often grows very quickly.”
The recent surge in support for far-right parties such as Portugal’s Chega, Greece’s Golden Dawn, France’s National Front and Spain’s Vox can be at least partly explained by a normalization process, according to Valentim.
Chega leader Andre Ventura addresses supporters at the Marriot Hotel, where the party is holding its election night event, in Lisbon on March 10, 2024.
Andre Diaz Nobre | Afp | Getty Images
“Many people already had far-right views but did not express them because they feared social ostracism,” he added.
“As a result, the far right had mostly low-quality leaders who failed to mobilize even voters who privately agreed with them. But once experienced politicians join the far right (such as Ventura in Portugal), they are able to attract support from these voters.”
Valentim said such a rise in support for far-right parties across Europe “does not require a real change in people’s political preferences”, which he said was a long-term process. Instead, “it just requires people [start] acting on what they have already thought in private.”
Far-right parties across Europe congratulated Chega’s Ventura on Sunday’s significant vote gains.
“Congratulations to Andre Ventura for this great result,” Santiago Abascal, leader of Spain’s Vox party, said Sunday via social media, according to Google Translate.
Maximilian Kra, Member of the European Parliament from Alternative for Germany, said On Sunday, as the votes are counted, Portugal’s Chega party is “on its way to fantastic success,” according to the translation.
Harald Vilimski, a member of the European Parliament from the anti-immigration Freedom Party of Austria, also sent his Congratulations I’m done.
