LISBON – A minority centre-right government in Portugal officially began its term on June 18 after Parliament dismissed a motion from the Communist Party,a small opposition group,which sought to reject the new management’s agenda.

The government’s program includes pledges to continue reducing taxes for the middle class and corporations, maintain balanced budgets, and engage in ongoing discussions with the opposition regarding critical issues like immigration.

The Communist Party, holding only three of the 230 seats in Parliament, had criticized the incoming government for acting “against the interests of workers” and voiced opposition to increasing defense spending to 2 per cent of the country’s national output.

However, the larger opposition parties, including the far-right Chega and the centre-left Socialists, upheld their prior commitment by voting against the Communist motion.This action cleared the path for Prime Minister Luis Montenegro‘s Democratic Alliance (AD) coalition to assume power.

Mr. Montenegro has largely retained the key ministers from his previous Cabinet following the AD coalition’s victory in a snap election on May 18.

Despite gaining more seats compared to the previous election, the AD once again failed to secure a working majority in the fragmented Parliament. Simultaneously occurring,the anti-establishment,anti-immigration party Chega has risen to become the primary opposition force.

Challenges and Perspectives

“Political stability is everyone’s task,this government is here for the four-year legislature,” Mr. Montenegro stated on june 17, emphasizing the importance of collaboration.

“It is indeed not time to obstruct” the government… but promised to “take seriously the work of leading this opposition… and tell you to your face what is wrong”.

Chega leader Andre Ventura acknowledged that while he doesn’t view the government favorably, “it is indeed not time to obstruct” the government, but promised to “take seriously the work of leading this opposition… and tell you to your face what is wrong”.

The government’s initial critically important challenge is expected to be the approval of the 2026 budget near the end of the year.

Due to the upcoming presidential election in January, no new parliamentary election can be held until at least mid-2026.