Portugal’s far right is moving closer to traditional parties ahead of March elections, according to a poll

Portugal’s far-right Chega party rose to 21% of voting intentions in a new opinion poll ahead of early elections scheduled for March 10, moving closer to traditional center-left and center-right parties whose support has remained stagnant.

A poll carried out by the ISCTE-ICS institute for SIC TV and the Expresso newspaper, published on Thursday evening, shows that the centre-left Socialist Party (PS) is in the lead with 29%, but with little chance of remaining in power, while Parliament would be controlled by a right-wing majority.

It was closely followed by the newly formed Democratic Alliance (AD) – a coalition between the centre-right Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the conservative CDS-PP – with 27%.

The populist and anti-establishment Chega, who promises to fight corruption and uses the slogan “Portugal needs cleaning”, gained six percentage points and surpassed the 20% threshold in a poll for the first time.

The growing support for Chega mirrors similar movements in other European countries, where nationalist and far-right parties court voters with promises to tighten immigration rules and soften EU climate policies.

Far-right parties, including Marine Le Pen’s National Rally in France, Matteo Salvini’s League in Italy and the Alternative for Germany (AfD), are expected to thrive in June’s European Union elections.

Chega leader André Ventura told Reuters last week that his party would ask to be part of a right-wing coalition government in exchange for parliamentary support.

All Portuguese right-wing parties together, including the pro-business Liberal Initiative, with 3% support, account for 53% of voting intentions.

However, PSD leader Luis Montenegro has already ruled out a deal with Chega, increasing political uncertainty.

Socialist Prime Minister António Costa resigned from office on November 7 amid an investigation into alleged illegalities in his government’s conduct of large green investment projects, leading to early elections. He denies any wrongdoing.

In mid-December Costa was replaced by former Infrastructure Minister Pedro Nuno Santos, 46, at the helm of the PS.

The ISCTE-ICS polled 804 people from January 16 to 25, with a margin of error of 3.5%.

Source: Terra

Rose

Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.