Feisty Portuguese Election Debate Dims Hopes for Post-Poll Compromises

By Andrei Khalip and Sergio Goncalves

LISBON – Tensions escalated during a debate late on Monday between the leaders of Portugal’s centre-right and far-right parties, casting doubt on their ability to collaborate effectively if the former secures a victory in next month’s elections without a majority.

The Portuguese electorate will participate in a snap election, the second within two years, on March 10, following the resignation of centre-left Socialist Prime Minister Antonio Costa in November. His departure was linked to an investigation into alleged irregularities related to his government’s investment project management, which he has denied.

Both the centre-left and centre-right are unlikely to win a majority of parliamentary seats in the upcoming election, with analysts predicting a potential deadlock that could necessitate another election.

An alliance led by the centre-right Social Democratic Party (PSD), under the leadership of Luis Montenegro, has recently shown a slight lead in opinion polls. However, analysts suggest that without support from the anti-establishment, anti-immigration Chega party, governing will be challenging.

Montenegro stated, “As a matter of principle, the PSD will never make a political agreement with someone who has policies and opinions that are often xenophobic, racist, populist, and excessively demagogic,” responding to Chega leader Andre Ventura during the televised debate.

In retaliation, Ventura labeled the PSD as “the useful idiot of the left,” asserting that it would “never have a majority” without Chega’s backing and that the PSD would be responsible for any resulting instability.

Montenegro has stated that in the event he does not secure an outright majority, he would consider forming a minority government, which could only be undermined if Chega allied with the left to oppose it.

In a recent regional election in the Azores Islands on February 4, the PSD-led Democratic Alliance fell three seats short of a majority and declined Chega’s offer to negotiate a coalition, a strategy Montenegro committed to maintaining at the national level.