Portugal votes in polls that could fuel Europe’s right-shift

Portuguese voters head to polls for an early election, potentially aligning with Europe’s rightward shift following 8 years of Socialist governance

Voters in Portugal go to the polls Sunday in an early election that could see the country join a shift to the right seen across Europe after eight years of Socialist rule.  

Final opinion polls published Friday show the center-right Democratic Alliance (AD) narrowly ahead of the Socialist Party (PS) but short of an outright majority in parliament, which could make the far-right party Chega a kingmaker for forming a governing coalition.

However, analysts warned that the election results, Portugal’s second in two years, remained wide open given the large number of undecided voters.

Voting stations in the nation of around 10 million people open at 8:00 a.m. (0800 GMT) and exit poll projections are expected at 8:00 p.m.

The AD leader, 51-year-old lawyer Luis Montenegro, has campaigned on promises to boost economic growth by cutting taxes and improving the country’s public services.

“We really must turn the page,” he told a packed final rally at Lisbon’s bullring on Friday night.

Montenegro has ruled out any post-election agreement with Chega, but other top AD officials have been more ambiguous.

According to analysts, a deal with the anti-establishment Chega, which means “Enough,” may prove the only way for the AD to govern.

Chega’s leader, Andre Ventura, a former trainee priest who became a tough-talking television football commentator, has said his party is “as legitimate as the others.”

Chega calls for tougher measures to fight corruption, stricter controls over immigration, and chemical castration for some sex offenders.

Just five years old, Chega picked up its first seat in Portugal’s 230-seat parliament in 2019, becoming the first far-right party to win representation in the assembly since a military coup in 1974 toppled a decades-long right-wing dictatorship.

It increased its seats to 12 in 2022, and projections suggest it will double that number this time. 

Source: AFP

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