Democratic Alliance (AD) leader Luis Montenegro celebrates his victory as he addresses supporters at the party’s election night headquarters, in Lisbon, March 10, 2024.
Miguel Riopa | Afp | Getty Images
Portugal’s far-right party Chega received a surge in support in the country’s early general elections on Sunday, reflecting a broader shift towards the radical right across Europe.
Portugal’s center-right Democratic Alliance achieved victory in the vote, winning 79 seats in the country’s 230-seat National Assembly, well short of the parliamentary majority. It follows closely behind the incumbent centre-left Socialist Party with 77 seats.
The result – which saw the parliamentary representation of the Chega party quadruple to at least 48 deputies – gives the political right a combined majority.
The result means Chega could play an influential role in the formation of a new administration.
Luis Montenegro, head of the Social Democratic Party which leads the Democratic Alliance, had previously ruled out the possibility of governing with Chega, and reiterated this in the early hours of Monday.
Earlier, left-wing Socialist Party leader Pedro Nuno Santos conceded defeat, saying the party, in power since 2015, would not support the Democratic Alliance’s platform.
Socialist party leader Pedro Nuno Santos addresses supporters during the party’s election night event, in Lisbon, March 10, 2024.
Patricia De Melo Moreira | Afp | Getty Images
Chega leader André Ventura told reporters that Sunday’s vote “clearly demonstrated that the Portuguese want a government of AD [Democratic Alliance] with Chega,” according to Reuters. Ventura said Montenegro would take responsibility for any political instability if it refused to negotiate with Chega.
The party’s political success reaffirms a political drift to the right across the continent. Observers have been closely monitoring Portugal’s election result, a potential indicator ahead of June’s European Parliament elections.
Portugal’s elections took place on Sunday following the sudden resignation of Socialist Prime Minister Antonio Costa in November amid a corruption investigation.
A trend found throughout Europe
Vicente Valentim, a political scientist at Oxford University in England, described the vote as “a decisive moment for the country.”
In a post on social media platform X, Valentim She said Monday: “Yesterday’s Portuguese elections highlight a common trend: support for the far right often grows very rapidly.”
According to Valentim, the recent increase in support for far-right parties such as Chega in Portugal, Golden Dawn in Greece, Front National in France and Vox in Spain could be at least partly explained by a process of normalization.
Chega leader Andre Ventura addresses supporters at the Marriot Hotel, where the party holds its election night event, in Lisbon, March 10, 2024.
Andre Dias Nobre | Afp | Getty Images
“Many people already had far-right views, but did not express them because they feared social ostracism,” he added.
“As a result, the far right had mostly poorly qualified leaders, who were unable to mobilize even voters who privately agreed with them. But, once qualified politicians join the far right ( like Ventura in Portugal), are able to attract support from these voters.”
Valentim said such growth in support for far-right parties across Europe “does not require an actual change in people’s political preferences,” which he said is a long-term process. Instead «it simply requires that people [start] acting on what they already thought in private.”
“A fantastic success”
Far-right parties across Europe congratulated Chega’s Ventura on significant gains in Sunday’s vote.
“Congratulations to Andre Ventura for this great achievement,” said Santiago Abascal, leader of the Spanish party Vox. She said Sunday via social media, according to a Google translation.
Maximilian Krah, Member of the European Parliament for Alternative for Germany, She said As the vote count took place on Sunday, Portugal’s Chega party was “on the road to fantastic success”, according to the translation.
Harald Vilimsky, Member of the European Parliament from the anti-immigration Austrian Freedom Party, also sent his Congratulations I finished.