Portugal is one of the most liberal democracies in Europe. It adopted the multiparty democracy since 1970.The 2024 elections became a topic to be talked about because the result of the current elections suggest that Portugal cannot be an island, when the far-right populist parties are gaining much more popularity in the other countries of Europe.
Understanding the Vote share of Parties
On 10th March, when the results were declared, the Social Democratic Party and the Socialist Party received 29% votes each.While Chega which received 18 percent votes in the election , became the third largest party. Chega was founded in the year 2019 and in the 2022 election it had received 7 percent votes.
Chega’s leader André Ventura said that this is a victory for the right wing. From this Ventura referred to the far-right, right-of-center and conservative parties , who have won a total of 52 percent votes. Chega’s head is willing to go ahead with coalition talks and join the coalition. However the head of Social Democratic Party’s, Luís Montenegro, has not given a nod to form a coalition with Chega. The Socialist Democratic party might form a minority government instead of coming in a coalition with Chega.
Rightist Democratic Alliance
The rightist Democratic Alliance, which won the March 10,2024 election, has proposed wage hikes and the tax cut, and it feels that the far-right Chega party will not be able to refuse and reject. However the Democratic Alliance has not agreed for any coalition with Chega.
Collapse of Prime Minister António Costa Government
The Goan-origin Prime Minister António Costa’s government, collapsed in 2023. There were allegations made by his government about the taking of hydrocarbon projects and mining projects.Mr.Costa announced his resignation after the police raided the Ministry of Environment and Ministry of Infrastructure and Mr. Costa’s Chief of Staff office. Later, Antonio Costa resigned and said that the investigation and probe carried out was ’incompatible’ with his duties as Prime Ministry.
If Mr. Montenegro does not agree to forming a coalition with Chega and then they will have to form a minority government . In that case his government will have to work harder to pass legislation.
Praise About Mr.Costa’s Work
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Mr.Costa received admiration for his work. The economy of Portugal grew much faster than the other nation’s economy in the European Union. Portugal witnessed several protests over the lack of access to health care services. At present, Portugal is struggling with inflation and poor wages.
Conclusion
There have been two early elections in the history of Portugal. The new Prime Minister of Portugal will have to work on having a non corrupt government and also work on the challenges mentioned above. The newly formed government will have to work on curbing inflation and poor wages. Along with this , the new government will have to keep the far-right at an arm’s length because it has been blamed and accused of racism and other practices like xenophobia.
During the election campaigning, the Social Democratic Party and Democratic Alliance leader Luis Montenegro said that they would be developing an emergency plan in order to improve the health care service. They also said during the election campaign that he would ensure that the demands of teachers and police officers are taken care of.
