Luís Montenegro: Centre-right leader invited to form a minority government
Portugal’s president extended an invitation to center-right figure Luís Montenegro to establish a minority government.
Despite prevailing in snap elections this month, the Democratic Alliance (AD) failed to secure a parliamentary majority.
Declining collaboration with the far-right Chega party, which garnered a historic number of seats, the AD faces a challenge in assembling a coalition.
Portugal, under Socialist governance since 2015, finds itself contending with its most fragmented parliament in over fifty years since the end of its dictatorship.
President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, following consultations with party leaders, formally invited Mr. Montenegro to assume the role of prime minister shortly after midnight on Thursday.
A statement released by the presidential administration explained, “Given the Democratic Alliance’s victory in terms of mandates and votes, and with the Secretary General of the Socialist Party affirming his intent to lead the opposition, the President of the Republic opted to designate Dr. Luís Montenegro as prime minister.”
Despite the AD securing 80 seats, it remains far from the 116-seat majority threshold. Consequently, the party will need to seek support either from the Socialists, who hold 78 seats, or from Chega, which secured 50 seats, to advance legislative initiatives.
Mr Montenegro on Wednesday refused to answer questions about how he would form a majority in parliament before he had appointed his ministers.
“All issues that have to do with the exercise of government activity will be taken up when there is a government, communicated and explained when there is a government,” he told reporters. “There is a relative, not absolute, majority.”
The AD leader has repeatedly insisted he will not work with Chega. The party’s leader, former football commentator André Ventura, has hoped to play kingmaker in the new parliament.
Mr Montenegro will succeed Antonio Costa, who had led the Iberian country since 2015 as Socialist party leader. But he stepped down four months ago amid corruption allegations, even though he was never named as a suspect in the investigation.
Low salaries and soaring rents led to voters becoming increasingly dissatisfied with centre-left rule.
