Next Sunday’s legislative elections in Portugal have also caused a lot of ink in the international press, which highlights the unpredictability of scenarios, with only one thing taken for granted: António Costa is leaving as prime minister.
The newspaper Politico reports “the most unpredictable Portuguese elections ever”, analyzing polls that indicate that “the blocs formed by right-wing and left-wing parties are almost balanced and that the far-right Chega party could be decisive”.
The publication brings together six essential points in the decision that the approximately 10.8 million Portuguese voters will make on Sunday:
1 – The Costa dismissal scandal
“Costa’s abrupt departure last November took everyone by surprise. He had governed Portugal since 2015 and was re-elected in 2022 with an absolute majority of seats in the country’s parliament. But he stepped down after being implicated in an investigation he said was ‘incompatible with the dignity of the office’ Although Costa has not been charged with any crime, some of his closest associates have been formally named as suspects and he is the subject of an official investigation by the Supreme Court of Justice”, writes Politico.
In its European version, the media highlights the debuts of Luís Montenegro, in the leadership of the Democratic Alliance, and Pedro Nuno Santos, “Costa’s successor”, in a scenario in which voters are concerned about housing issues, declining public services and corruption.
2 – Anxiety until the last
“Polls suggest that Sunday’s vote could be remarkably close, with the right-wing bloc led by the Democratic Alliance only slightly ahead of a left-wing group led by the Socialists”, reads the same text, which anticipates problems at the time of do the math for parliamentary seats, as no party wants to collaborate with Chega. Even earlier, “up to 20 percent of voters say they are undecided and intend to make their final decision at the polls – making Sunday’s result a real dispute”.
3 – Ventura Factor
André Ventura’s Chega is described as the ‘Kingmaker’ (in other words, the party that will be decisive’) in the electoral accounts – if the AD wins the elections. “Montenegro has repeatedly said he will not come to terms with the far right,” Politico writes.
The leader of the far-right party