LISBON, March 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The leader of Portugal’s opposition centre-right Democratic Alliance (AD) party, Luis Montenegro, claimed victory early Monday over the ruling Socialists in a snap general election the day before.
“It seems inescapable that the AD won the elections and that the Socialists lost,” he said in an address to party supporters in Lisbon shortly after midnight.
Montenegro declared victory early on Monday morning, shortly after the Socialist Party (PS)’s leader Pedro Nuno Santos conceded defeat, but it was unclear whether he would be able to govern without the support of the far-right Chega party, with whom he again refused to negotiate.
The AD and its conservative allies in Madeira won at least 79 seats in the 230-seat parliament, ahead of the PS’s 77. Chega’s parliamentary representation more than quadrupled to at least 48 lawmakers, giving the combined right a majority.
Four seats remained to be attributed after the final count of ballots from abroad.
“It seems inescapable that the AD won the elections and that the Socialists lost,” Montenegro told excited supporters who had gathered in the capital, Lisbon. It was crucial for political parties in the new parliament to act responsibly and “comply with the wish of the Portuguese people”, he added.
Sunday’s snap election, triggered by Socialist Prime Minister Antonio Costa’s sudden resignation amid a corruption investigation, was marked by a surge in support for Chega, which positioned itself as an alternative to the two parties that have long dominated Portuguese politics, promising to crack down on corruption and expressing hostility to what it sees as “excessive” immigration.
It took place against a backdrop of low wages and a high cost of living – worsened last year by surges in inflation and interest rates – coupled with a housing crisis and failings in public healthcare.
Portugal is the latest country in Europe to shift towards the far right. The country returned to democracy 50 years ago after the fall of the fascist dictatorship of Antonio de Oliveira Salazar.
Chega leader Andre Ventura, a former law professor and television football pundit, has said he is prepared to drop some of his party’s most controversial proposals – including chemical castration for some sex offenders and the introduction of life prison sentences – if that enables his party to be included in a governing alliance with other right-of-centre parties. — NNN-AGENCIES
