© eco.sapo.pt.jpgLuis Montenegro • Pedro Nuno Santos
The Democratic Alliance coalition's success in the snap election on Sunday saw its leader
Luis Montenegro, declare: "The Portuguese people have spoken. They want a different government, different policies, renewed parties and dialogue among their leaders...And that's what we are prepared to offer."The electoral platform is made up of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) along with two smaller conservative parties, narrowly finishing first and defeating its socialist rivals in the election.
The election, in which no party secured a majority of seats in Parliament, saw both main parties - PSD and the Socialist Party (PS) polling roughly 29% of the vote. However, it was the right-wing Chega party which saw the biggest surge, securing 18 per cent of the vote, and 48 seats in the 230-seat parliament just five years after it entered Portuguese politics. It makes it the country's third largest political force. The result quadruples its seat count, from 12 to 48.
Chega, meaning 'Enough' was formed in 2019 by former football pundit André Ventura, as a national conservative, right-wing party. It is nationally conservative as well as socially conservative, and describes itself as a strong proponent of Western civilisation. Its election campaign had focused on an anti-establishment message, and promised to rid the country of corruption, while expressing hostility to "excessive" immigration.
With 99 per cent of votes counted, it emerged on Monday morning that the Democratic Alliance had secured 79 seats, the Socialists 77, and Chega, 48, while a group of smaller parties picked up the remainder.
Montenegro, of the Democratic Alliance, addressed supporters early on Monday morning, saying that his expectation was that "PS and Chega will not form a negative alliance to prevent the government that the Portuguese wanted." He said he did not expect the Socialists to "adhere to our government's proposals," but that he hoped they would "respect the will of the Portuguese people."
During his concession speech on Sunday, leader of the Socialist Party Pedro Nuno Santos said that the combined size of the centre right and far right had made a left-wing government in Portugal impossible looking to the near future.
"Everything indicates that the Socialist Party did not win the election," Nuno Santos said at a news conference. The Social Democratic Party, the main party within the Democratic Alliance, now looks set to form a government. Social Democratic leader Luís Montenegro told the news conference: "It seems undeniable that the Democratic Alliance won the elections and that the Socialists lost."
Europe's Social Democrats now govern in just four out of the EU's 27 member states.
Ventura, responding to his party's success, simply posted a "thank you" to the people of Portugal on social media:
Late on Sunday, Ventura commented: "Chega asked to become the centrepiece of the political system and it achieved that result. We want to give Portugal a stable government."
VOX, the national conservative party in Spain, posted a statement congratulating Chega on the election result:
"Congratulations to our friends and allies at @PartidoCHEGA for the extraordinary result achieved in the Portuguese elections. Patriots make their way in defence of the freedom and sovereignty of nations against corrupt socialism and outdated bipartisanship."
The election result represented the worst result for Portugal's Socialist Party since 2011, and had been triggered by the resignation of former socialist leader and Prime Minister, António Costa, in November, amid a corruption investigation involving his chief of staff.
The country's shift to the right follows projections that the right will make inroads in the June European Parliament election, with polling showing a predicted shift that could dramatically alter the landscape of the European Parliament.
A poll for the European Council in January predicted that the right-wing Identity and Democracy faction could gain big, gaining as many as 40 seats to become the European Parliaments' third-largest group. The right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) also look set to make gains.
Polling has, however, suggested that the current pro-European forces such as the European People's Party, Socialists and Democrats, and Renew Europe could still manage to form a majority in the Parliament come June.
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