Portuguese far-right leader taken to hospital after second collapse
The leader of Portugal's far-right Chega party has been taken to hospital after another collapse during a rally days before the country votes in its third snap election since 2022.
André Ventura, whose brash, blunt leadership style has helped make the populist, anti-immigration party Portugal's third biggest political force, was taken ill at an event in the southern town of Odemira on Thursday, two days after a similar episode.
Videos from the rally showed Ventura, 42, grabbing his chest and trying to undo his tie before falling into the arms of aides who carried him away. He was taken to a local clinic and then transferred to a hospital in Setúbal, near Lisbon, to undergo a medical procedure.
Ventura had been discharged from hospital in Faro on Wednesday after his previous collapse. The hospital said he had had an oesophageal spasm caused by gastric reflux and high blood pressure.
The Chega MP Marta Silva told CNN Portugal on Thursday that an electrocardiogram in an ambulance immediately after the second collapse had shown that 'everything is well with his heart' and that it was probably another spasm.
Ventura posted a picture of himself giving a thumbs-up sign from a hospital bed on Thursday afternoon. 'This is a setback and a difficulty,' he wrote on X. 'It won't bring us down. Keep going … keep going!!! Portugal is much more important, it is this country that moves us.'
Chega looks likely to once again finish third on Sunday, behind the ruling, centre-right Democratic Alliance (AD) and the Socialist party (PS). Recent polls put the AD on about 33%, the PS on 26% and Chega on 17%.
Ventura's efforts to win a place in government have been rebuffed by Portugal's prime minister, Luís Montenegro, who has repeatedly ruled out any deal with the far-right party.
Chega, which has campaigned on a promise to clean up Portuguese politics at the same time as increasing its rhetoric against the Roma population, has been hit by a series of damaging allegations relating to some of its members over recent months.
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In January, Chega expelled one of its MPs from the party after he was accused of stealing suitcases at several airports. Another party member was caught drink-driving the same month, while a third has been charged with paying for oral sex with an underage male, who was 15 at the time.
Reuters contributed to this report
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