[ad_1]
TThe rapid growth of right-wing political forces across Europe hit Portugal on Sunday, as the Chega party surged in support and quadrupled its parliamentary seats.
In early elections, the center-right AD Alliance won the most seats, defeating the Socialist Party, whose vote share had collapsed. However, the far-right Chega attracted attention with its good result of 3rd place. Just two years ago, it won 12 seats in parliament. There are currently around 50 seats.
read more: All elections around the world in 2024
Chega, which means “enough is enough,” is led by Andre Ventura, a 41-year-old former apprentice priest who later became a TV soccer commentator. He said late Sunday that Chega’s electoral success meant Chega should become part of the AD-led government.
“We need to hear this victory in a lot of places tonight,” Ventura said, waving and jumping up and down in front of supporters chanting “Win, win, win.”
“The Portuguese’s will was clear,” he said.
Having secured a significant increase in parliamentary seats, Chega has become a mathematical choice for the centre-right, and the two parties combined will have an outright majority.
But the populist party has been controversial with its harsh anti-immigration stance and support for chemical castration of some sex offenders. During the campaign, AD leader Luis Montenegro denied doing business with Chega, calling it racist and xenophobic. He reaffirmed his determination after the election.
Even if Chega remains isolated, Sunday’s performance cemented its status as the third party in parliament and a powerful political presence in Portugal.
Chega’s gains represent a major change. The majority Socialist Party government will be overthrown, and the parliament will be dominated by centre-right parties. Together, they will win at least 135 of the 230 seats. The four seats allocated to voters outside Portugal have not yet been decided.
Early Monday morning, Socialist Party leader Pedro Nuno Santos conceded defeat. However, the AD, which groups the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the smaller CDS, is far from a parliamentary majority. Santos said AD should not rely on his party for parliamentary support.
This means Portugal is heading towards a minority government, which could be forced to compromise on key policies to win support from other parties. And if history is any guide, it may struggle to survive. Since Portugal became a democracy 50 years ago, only two minority governments have lasted a full term.
In its election manifesto, the AD Alliance said there was a need to transform an economy mired in low wages, high taxes and a housing crisis.
The government wants to reduce income taxes as well as taxes on young people’s home purchases to address constituent concerns such as a lack of affordable housing and the emigration of eligible young people. The corporate tax rate is also scheduled to be gradually lowered from 21% to 15%.
european trends
Chega’s rise is part of a trend seen in countries such as the Netherlands, France and Germany, and comes just three months before European Union elections that are expected to see further gains for populist groups. Mr Ventura has relationships with other right-wing parties, including Vox in neighboring Spain, which congratulated him on his post about X.
Chega won 18% of the vote in Portugal on Sunday, up from 7% just two years ago.
He appeals to many disaffected voters by blaming successive left-wing and centre-right governments for what he claims is Portugal’s systemic corruption. “We will cleanse Portugal of socialists and social democrats,” he said in a video on his website Ventura.
The two parties have dominated Portuguese politics since the Carnation Revolution 50 years ago, which ended more than 40 years of dictatorship.
confrontational
Ventura first entered politics as a candidate for the PSD during the 2017 local elections in Loures, a suburb of Lisbon.
He attracted attention by targeting the Roma community, claiming that they depend almost exclusively on state subsidies. He lost that election and left PSD in 2019 to form Chega.
His tone in parliament is often confrontational, which he says is intended to channel the anger Portuguese people feel toward the system. The 2023 Eurobarometer survey found that 93% of Portuguese citizens believe corruption is widespread.
“We have the worst government and the worst prime minister in history,” Ventura said last year, echoing the words another populist, Donald Trump, has used to describe his rivals, including President Joe Biden. It’s the same.
When former Prime Minister Antonio Costa resigned late last year amid a scandal within the government over allegations of influence misappropriation, his concern with corruption issues became acutely apparent. This led to early elections.
“There is massive corruption throughout the country,” Ventura told supporters at a rally earlier this year. “Only we can do something about it.”
[ad_2]
Source link
