Tag Archive for: populism

‘Where 2 dogs fight for a bone, the 3rd runs away with it home’ – Dutch saying

A 50-year-old political system dominated by two main parties – the centre-right Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the Socialist Party (PS) – has come to an end as the far-right party Chega (Enough) picked up nearly one-fifth of the votes on anti-corruption, immigration and euroscepticism.

The Democratic Alliance (AD) – a centre-right coalition of the PSD and the Christian Democrats led by Luis Montenegro – technically won the elections with 29% of the votes. The margin, however, was only 1% with their main opponent, the centre-left PS. It is very unlikely that the two main parties will cut a deal, leaving the centre-right facing an unstable minority government.

The elections brought an end to the nine-year government of the Socialist Party of António Costa, who had to resign last November as a result of alleged illegalities in his government’s handling of large green investment projects. His Partido Socialista only took 28% of the votes, a dramatic fall since the comfortable victory in 2022 with 47% of the votes. After losing the election the current party leader Pedro Nuo Santos declared that the PS would lead the opposition

The far-left also fared badly with an increasingly weak Communist party (PCP) securing just four MPs and the anti-capitalist Left Bloc (BE), clasping to the five seats it has since 2022. The pro-EU party Livre was more lucky, going from one to four MPs.

The biggest win, however, went to the populist Chega party, led by former football commentator Andre Ventura. It became the 3rd political party in the country with 18% of the votes after obtaining a mere 7% of the votes in 2022.

Corruption ranks high among voters’ concerns and was a key focus of the far-right campaign. Besides the investigation into Costa’s administration that triggered this election, another former Socialist prime minister – José Sócrates – is going to stand trial again over allegations that he pocketed about 34m euros during his time in power from fraud and money laundering. But also the PSD is facing corruption allegations, with two prominent party politicians recently forced to resign amid a fraud investigation in Madeira.  

It is unclear what role the far-right party will play in the new government since AD’s party leader Montenegro has repeatedly declared that he refuses to cut a deal with the ‘racist, xenophobic and demagogic’ Chega leader Ventura. The question is now how much strength is left in that cordon sanitaire.

Chega’s success is the result of letting the social discontent grow on deteriorating living and working conditions. Costa’s majority government proved to be unable to meet the economic aftermath of Covid. Minimum wage increases unable to meet inflation, rent controls out of the question, and faltering performance in public education and the National Health Service (SNS).

In the westernmost nation of mainland Europe where incomes are the sixth lowest in the EU, over 10% of the population are living in food poverty and ‘non-habitual residents’ (i.e. expats) enjoy considerable tax exemptions, people are easy prey to an ultra-nationalist party that promises higher wages and public spending but lower taxes at the same time.


Have a nice week         Tenha uma semana boa         (pic Público/Sapo)























After years of EU support, Portugal is still a backward country’

What is the state of Portugal’s democracy in the year that centre-left prime minister António Costa took over the European Chairmanship and centre-right president Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa was re-elected on a second term in office with a clear 61% of the votes.  

The PM holds the most executive power.The directly elected president has a more deliberative role as a warden of the constitution and head of the armed forces. The president also has the power to delay legislation, dissolve parliament and call for new elections. He or she ratifies international treaties, calls referendums and declares states of emergency.

Since it’s return from dictatorship to democracy in 1974 (Carnation Revolution), Portugal has a stable parliamentary democracy with a multiparty system and regular transfer of power between the two largest parties, the Socialist party (PS) and the Social democrats (PSD).

A new, anti-immigration and far-right party Chega ( ‘Enough’ ), however, is on the rise. Representing only 1% of the electorate in the 2019 elections – sufficient to gain a first-ever seat in Parliament – its leader André Ventura became third in the recent presidential elections with 12% of the votes, just behind the socialist veteran Ana Gomes.

Ventura’s performance makes clear that he has emerged as a political force in Portugal and in this year’s upcoming municipal elections his ultranationalist and xenophobic party – by many viewed as fascist – is looking like a serious popular choice.

International studies praise the country for its political freedom and civil liberties. The Freedom House Research Institute in Washington DC ranks Portugal 10th globally and the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Institute at the University of Gothenburg even 7th. Higher than say the UK or Germany but lower than the Scandinavian countries.

Portugal legalised abortion in 2007 and same-sex marriage in 2010. Parliament voted in January this year in favour of euthanasia, bringing the new law a step closer.

Although domestic violence remains a problem, perhaps the most serious concern is corruption involving bankers, judges and high ranking politicians. Other democratic worries include abusive conditions for prisoners, persistent racism – especially with the uniformed forces – and discrimination of the Roma.

On the Global Democracy Index 2020 – drawn up annually by the Economist – Portugal fell from a ‘full’ to a ‘flawed’ democracy, mainly due to restrictions imposed by the pandemic, a reduction in parliamentary debates and lack of transparency in the spending of EU recovery funds.

According to European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reform Elisa Ferreira, Portugal is still a backward country. In an online debate she emphasized that the billions to help the country recover from the coronavirus pandemic must be radically different from the past. ‘It has to be much more environmental, more digital and much more socially balanced’, she stated.

She further pointed out that the GDP per head in Portugal is extraordinary low. and that ‘no matter how much Lisbon grows, the rest of the country is too far behind to allow Portugal to take off.’

Stay healthy                          Fique saudável            (pic Público/Sapo)