Portugal’s incumbent centre-right party won the most seats in the country’s third general election in three years on Sunday, May 18th, but again fell short of a parliamentary majority, while support for the right-wing nationalist Chega party rose.
Near complete official results showed that Prime Minister Luís Montenegro’s Democratic Alliance (AD) captured 32.7% of the vote. The Socialists had 23.4%, their worst result in decades, trailed closely by Chega with 22.6%.
“The people want this government and this prime minister,” Montenegro told his cheering supporters after the results were announced.
Even with the backing of the business-friendly party Liberal Initiative (IL), the AD would still need the support of Chega to pass legislation.
But Montenegro has refused any alliance with the anti-establishment party, saying it is “unreliable” and “not suited to governing.”
Chega leader André Ventura said “nothing will ever be the same again, Portugal is ours and it always will be.”
Support for Chega has grown in every general election since the party was founded in 2019.
