Appointment of Luis Montenegro as Prime Minister of Portugal | world

Portugal's president has invited Luis Montenegro, of the centre-right Democratic Alliance coalition, which narrowly won the March 10 parliamentary election, to form a government after eight years of socialist rule, the Portuguese presidency said on Thursday. (20).

The Democratic Party, which did not obtain an absolute majority, said it was ready to rule alone, refusing to negotiate a coalition proposed by the far-right Chiga party.

Chiga quadrupled its parliamentary representation, an unprecedented achievement for a far-right party since the fall of the fascist dictatorship 50 years ago.

The AD government will rely on fragmented agreements in parliament with Chiga or the Left to approve bills, making it unstable.

The widely expected appointment of conservative President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa came after midnight on Thursday (local time), after the Electoral Commission counted the remaining votes from abroad, giving Chiga two additional seats in parliament, while the AD and the Socialists added just one each. who are they.

In total, M won 80 seats in the 230-seat parliamentwhich is supposed to return next week, followed by Socialists with 78 seats And by He's up With 50.

Right-wing populism

The result highlights the political tilt towards right-wing populism and a reduction in the number of socialist governments across Europe, which could lead to gains for far-right parties in the European elections in June.

Montenegro, 51, has repeatedly said it will not make a deal with Chega, and reiterated on Wednesday that AD is ready to rule alone.

Chiga leader and former television sports commentator, Andre Ventura, demanded a role in government in exchange for support.

The government can be sworn in in the first week of April, and must, within 10 days after that date, submit its program to Parliament, which will be approved automatically, unless Parliament votes to reject it.

Analysts expect to allow the Democratic Alliance government to take power and consider the 2025 budget as the first test of survival later this year. A rejected budget may lead to new elections.

Ceja has threatened to vote against the project and says AD will be responsible for any instability if it continues to ignore his party, but he has also indicated his support for at least some of the initial measures proposed by Montenegro.

These initiatives include increasing salaries and benefits for health care professionals, police officers and teachers, as well as lowering income taxes.

Socialist leader Pedro Nuno Santos said on Tuesday that it would be “practically impossible” for his party to support AD's 2025 budget, but that he was open to negotiating measures to help the health, education and security sectors.