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Far right surges in Portugal as moderate conservatives win election
Financial Times ^ | May 18, 2025 | Sérgio Aníbal, Barney Jopson

Posted on 05/18/2025 8:27:38 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum

The far-right Chega party has smashed Portugal’s two-party duopoly by riding a wave of anti-immigrant sentiment to tie for second place in a parliamentary election won by the governing centre-right Democratic Alliance (AD).

André Ventura, Chega’s populist leader, secured a record share of the vote and was neck and neck with the Socialist party in the number of elected lawmakers early on Monday, with results in from 226 of 230 parliamentary seats.

The result means Portugal joins a list of western European countries where far-right parties are either the second-biggest political force or close to it, including Germany, Sweden, Finland and Belgium. In the Netherlands, the far-right party of Geert Wilders won an election in 2023.

Ventura said “today we can confidently announce that the two-party system in Portugal has come to an end” as he declared that “Chega has become the second-largest political party”.

But the result is unlikely to give him a taste of power because Prime Minister Luís Montenegro, a moderate conservative, has refused to do any deals with Chega.

In a snap election precipitated by conflict-of-interest allegations against the prime minister, Montenegro’s AD performed better than it did in the last vote 14 months ago, but again fell short of a parliamentary majority. That means he is likely to form another minority government.

Chega’s surge means it will have more clout and will press the AD to move further to the right after a campaign in which Ventura, who has been labelled a xenophobe by opponents, declared that “Portugal is flooded with illegal immigration and corruption”.

A former trainee priest and football pundit, Ventura increased his party’s share to 22.6 per cent from 18 per cent in the last election in March 2024.

Although the Socialist party won a slightly higher share of the vote...

(Excerpt) Read more at ft.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS:

1 posted on 05/18/2025 8:27:38 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

So, will the “center-right” party form a coalition with the socialists or the conservatives?


2 posted on 05/18/2025 8:32:19 PM PDT by VanShuyten ("...that all the donkeys were dead. I know nothing as to the fate of the less valuable anima)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

Global Trumpalution!


3 posted on 05/18/2025 8:39:03 PM PDT by lightman (Beat the Philly fraud machine the Amish did onest, ja? Nein, zweimal they did already!)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

Amazing that there are “far right” parties all over the place, but no “far left” parties are ever referenced in the media


4 posted on 05/18/2025 8:40:36 PM PDT by j.havenfarm (24 years on Free Republic, 12/10/24! More than 10,500 replies and still not shutting up!)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum
Moderate Conservative???

El Rush-Bo often stated two fundamental Truths about "moderates"

Most people who say they are a moderate will eventually be a liberal

A moderate is just a liberal who won't admit it.

And finally, I believe it was Lazarus Long who opined:

"Anything worth doing is worth overdoing; moderation is for monks!"

5 posted on 05/18/2025 8:42:58 PM PDT by Ronaldus Magnus III (Do, or do not, there is no try)
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To: Ronaldus Magnus III
"Anything worth doing is worth overdoing; moderation is for monks!"

"Moderation in all things"---including moderation!

6 posted on 05/18/2025 8:57:27 PM PDT by lightman (Beat the Philly fraud machine the Amish did onest, ja? Nein, zweimal they did already!)
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To: Ronaldus Magnus III

He also used to say that a conservative was just a liberal who got mugged.


7 posted on 05/18/2025 8:58:54 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum (Democrats are the Party of anger, hate and violence.)
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To: j.havenfarm

Yep


8 posted on 05/18/2025 9:09:54 PM PDT by SaveFerris (Luke 17:28 ... as it was in the Days of Lot; They did Eat, They Drank, hey Bought, They Sold ......)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

Portugal: center right + populist right + market liberals got more than 60 percent of the vote

That’s called a landslide.

Romania: the run-off was between a center to center-right guy and a populist right guy

We got 100 percent of the vote.

Poland: the center-right guy finished first, the conservative second, the populist right/libertarian third, and the populist right/nationalist fourth.

Yes, only the top two advance to the run-off. But, big picture, we dominated.

I think the tide has turned against left-socialism and their green and progressive agenda.


9 posted on 05/18/2025 11:49:09 PM PDT by Redmen4ever
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

“Far right” = sick of open borders and EU regulations.

“Center right” = pretend to be right but go along with Socialism.


10 posted on 05/19/2025 6:09:17 AM PDT by Opinionated Blowhard (When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

In Europe “far right” means anyone who believes in borders...believes that one cannot change their gender....believes that the Judeo Christian policies of the past are best...believes that European culture is superior to certain other cultures...


11 posted on 05/19/2025 6:34:12 AM PDT by Gay State Conservative (Import The Third World,Become The Third World)
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