The country’s shift to the right in Sunday’s Portuguese legislative elections is now a subject of news on the websites of several British newspapers, which highlight the uncertainty regarding the next government.
The Times newspaper reports that the leader of the Socialist Party, Pedro Nuno Santos, conceded defeat on Sunday “despite a very small margin” and highlights that Chega, on the far right, quadrupled the number of deputies.
“The result represents a significant gain for the right in the European Union, where right-wing parties have won elections or joined coalitions in Italy, Greece, Sweden and Finland in the last two years”, highlights the newspaper.
The Times predicts that the Democratic Alternative “may try to form a minority government without Chega, which could be unstable” as it would depend on the PS abstaining from important votes.
The Guardian newspaper reports that the leader of the PSD, Luís Montenegro, the main party of the Democratic Alliance, will be under “considerable pressure from his own party to reach an agreement with the far-right party to help the PSD reach the government”.
“Even with the support of the smaller, center-right Liberal Initiative, any potential minority government led by the Democratic Alliance would likely still have to rely on Chega’s support to pass legislation, leaving its stability in the hands of the far right” , observes.
The BBC station’s website highlights that “Portugal’s centre-right claimed a narrow electoral victory, but has little chance of forming a majority government” and that the country ended up with “the most fragmented parliament since the end of its dictatorship, half a century ago.”
The AD coalition, which brings together PSD, CDS and PPM, obtained 79 mandates, against 77 for the PS (28.66%), followed by Chega with 48 elected representatives (18.06%).
IL, BE and PAN maintained their mandates, eight, five and one respectively. Livre went from one to four elected representatives while the CDU lost two seats, from six to four mandates.
The four emigration seats that the PS won in 2022, with three mandates, remain to be determined.