Portugal's new centre-right government will be sworn in on Tuesday with the narrowest margin in parliament, sandwiched between the outgoing Socialist Party and the rising far-right faction.
Luis Montenegro, who won the March 10 election, will be sworn in as prime minister in front of conservative President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, along with 17 ministers.
The move ends eight years of rule by the Socialist government led by Antonio Costa, who resigned in November and decided not to run after being named in an influence-peddling scandal.
His successor, Montenegro, 51, inaugurated a cabinet on Thursday that is filled with experienced politicians but, like himself, lacks government experience.
Montenegro and its Democratic Alliance (AD) won 28.9% of the vote and 80 seats, narrowly beating the Socialist Party's 28% and 78 seats.
– “Government agreement” –
Montenegro fell far short of the 116 members needed for a majority and decided to form a minority government without the support of the far-right party Chega (meaning “Enough is Enough”). The party won 18.1 percent of the vote and emerged as the country's third largest force. The number of seats will increase from 12 to 50.
During the election period, Montenegro insisted it would never form an alliance with or accept support from Chega, the political party founded in 2019 by Andre Ventura, a law professor who made a name for himself as a debater on soccer TV shows. did.
After the election, Mayor Chega said he was ready to negotiate a “government agreement” with Montenegro and threatened to block it if Montenegro refused to enter into negotiations.
Split parliament nearly led to an impasse last month, forcing the Democratic Alliance to make a last-minute deal with the Socialists over the choice of speaker.
The next obstacle for Montenegro is the presentation of the government plan, which will be debated in parliament next week.
– “Popular or responsible?” –
If the plan fails to pass a vote in parliament, the government would have to resign, but the new leader of the Socialist Party, Pedro Nuno Santos, has ruled out that scenario.
Diana Ramos, editor-in-chief of the business newspaper Jornal de Negocios, said the dilemma faced by the new prime minister is whether to be popular or responsible.
Although he inherited a budget surplus of 1.2% of GDP, “it would be bad news for the Portuguese if Montenegro tries to permanently increase spending to boost his popularity,” she wrote on Monday. .
The government could seek to increase the salaries of certain civil servants, such as teachers and police, to gain an advantage over the socialist parties and the far-right and dissuade them from pushing for new elections.
Even if the president is unable to dissolve parliament for another six months, Montenegro still has to explain how it intends to pass the national budget for 2025, which is essential to implement the plan presented by the president. do not have.
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