Far right challenges traditional parties
's conservative prime minister Luís Montenegro strengthened his position in Sunday's general election, although the composition and stability of the next government remain uncertain after the far-right Chega broke the hegemony of the established parties.
Montenegro's Democratic Alliance (AD) centre-right coalition had 89 seats in the 230-seat parliament, with overseas votes yet to be counted, nine more than in the 2024 election when he took power. The result, which meant parties on the left suffered heavy losses, appears to mean the acting prime minister can leave behind a conflict-of-interest scandal which had triggered the election after Montenegro's government collapsed in March.
'People want this government and they don't want any other,' Montenegro said. 'People want this prime minister and not any other.'
The opposition had denounced Montenegro's ties to a company, Spinumviva, which has benefited from contracts awarded by the government, making the election in part a referendum on the prime minister's handling of the affair.
READ MORE
'Who will keep talking about Spinumviva after this result?' asked political columnist Pedro Tadeu of
Diário de Notícias newspaper. 'Nobody'.
However, Montenegro's AD remains a minority force in parliament and vulnerable to the instability which has hit the country's politics in recent years.
Supporters of far-right party Chega celebrate at their headquarters in Lisbon. Photograph: Andre Dias Nobre/AFP via Getty Images
The shock of the election was provided by Chega, which, with votes still to be counted, was tied with the Socialist Party on 58 seats. Chega, which was only formed in 2019, had already become the third force in parliament and this result raises the prospect of it either being the main party of opposition or even of entering government.
Chega leader André Ventura hogged the media spotlight for much of the campaign, during which he engaged in public arguments with members of the Romani community and advocated a severe clampdown on immigration. He was hospitalised towards the end of the campaign, due to a gastric complaint, ensuring he was talked about until election day.
'Nothing will be the same in Portugal from today,' Ventura said, as he acknowledged the result, which he dedicated to 'those who have felt humiliated during these 50 years of the [democratic] regime'.
While immigration, which has increased substantially in recent years, was a significant theme of the campaign, so too was housing, the cost of which has risen sharply in Portugal as wages have failed to keep up.
The Socialist Party was the big loser of the ballot, shedding 20 seats. Along with the conservatives, it had been a dominant force since the transition from dictatorship to democracy in 1974. As recently as 2022, it won an absolute majority under then-prime minister António Costa. However, his successor as party leader, Pedro Nuno Santos, stepped down on Sunday after the scale of the defeat became apparent. He cited 'tough and difficult times for the left and for the Socialist Party', for which this was the worst result since 1987.
The Socialists governed between 2015 and 2023, with the support of other parties on the left, including the Communist Party and Leftist bloc. Both of those lost ground, although the relatively new left-wing Livre party gained seats.
President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa will start meeting party leaders on Tuesday before inviting one of them to form a government.
All eyes are now on whether Montenegro attempts to govern alone or alongside another party. The centre-right Liberal Initiative (ID) was seen as a potential partner for the AD, but its nine seats would still leave Montenegro far off the 116 needed to form a majority. In the past, he has ruled out the possibility of governing with Chega and his acting foreign minister, Paulo Rangel, has reiterated that stance in the wake of the election.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Irish Times
CIÉ group pensioners to get increase after 17 years
With unions in the CIÉ transport companies having this week backed long-discussed pension reforms in the group, it is now up to the Government to put in place measures that will allow retired workers to receive their first increase in about 17 years. Minister for Transport Darragh O'Brien on Monday welcomed the announcement by the CIÉ unions – the NBRU, Siptu, Connect, Unite and the TSSA – that members had backed changes, which had been negotiated with the company in May. There are two defined benefit schemes in the CIÉ group – the Regular Wages Scheme (RWS) and the 1951 Superannuation scheme. Members of the RWS backed the reforms by 74 per cent to 26 per cent. The result in the ballot of members of the 1951 scheme was tighter, with the changes being supported by 53 per cent to 47 per cent. READ MORE O'Brien said the decision 'prioritises the collective goal of bringing the CIÉ pensions schemes on to a more sustainable footing and provides for overdue increases for CIÉ pensioners'. However, the reforms will have to be backed by O'Brien as Minister for Transport and by Jack Chambers as Minister for Public Expenditure. O'Brien had earlier told CIÉ chief executive Lorcan O'Connor in a letter in July that if the deal was agreed then he would 'support and actively progress the process for the preparation and consideration of statutory instruments that are required to effect amendments to both schemes'. Unions are now likely to press ministers to introduce the necessary measures to allow the reforms come into effect within the next few months. There are about 6,400 retired CIÉ transport workers and they have been campaigning for years for a pension increase, citing the rising cost of living. However, the schemes' actuary did not believe that rises were affordable given deficits of about €370 million. The changes would see the existing two defined-benefit schemes closed to new members, who would be covered by a defined-contribution arrangement. Under the new proposals former staff who retired on or before December 31st, 2020, would receive a 5 per cent pension increase, with those who retired in 2021 getting 4 per cent, while those who retired in 2022 are in line for a 3 per cent rise. The deal would also allow staff covered by the 1951 scheme opt to cease paying contributions to the defined-benefit scheme once they reached maximum service and contribute instead to the new defined-contribution scheme. However, Chambers told Ged Nash of the Labour Party in a parliamentary answer in May that he did not intend to put in place similar arrangements for staff in the public service. 'There is no plan to amend the pre-existing public service pension scheme rules to allow for cessation of scheme membership and/or provision of a defined-contribution scheme for members who have attained 40 years' reckonable service', he said.
Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Irish Times
Ireland falls short in its support for indigenous industry
Ireland and Europe are at a critical moment best described as a burning platform. This has become a common way to describe a situation where the risks and consequences of doing nothing are so great that immediate, radical action is required. The problem with a burning platform, however, is that it may not be recognised until it is too late. But in this case, we have been well warned. The publication of the Draghi report last year on European competitiveness jolted the political and official classes by highlighting the persistent failure to commercialise research and innovation successfully and build great companies in Europe. It is impossible to ignore and we do so at our peril. READ MORE Ireland's burning platform is made all the more flammable by a long-term reliance on foreign direct investment (FDI) at a time of great geopolitical uncertainty. After four decades working in the tech sector, as a founder and as an investor, I want to be clear: FDI has served us well and is a hugely successful driver of our economic growth. But it is now time to readjust, and alongside our FDI strategy we need to bolster our indigenous sector significantly. To be fair, the Irish political system is not completely indifferent to the challenge. Successive, well intentioned, ministers for finance and enterprise have introduced measures designed to support Irish innovation and entrepreneurship. These include the Employment Investment Incentive (EII) scheme, the Key Employee Engagement Programme (KEEP), Angel Investor Relief (AIR), entrepreneurs' relief and others. Yet, almost without exception, these measures have failed to deliver on their intended purpose. The KEEP scheme, an incentive for companies to provide share options to staff, is used by a tiny fraction of growing Irish tech companies, and the total projected 'tax cost' in 2023 was just €400,000. A clear sign that the scheme is not fit for purpose. The EII scheme needs radical changes as an incentive for high-risk, early-stage investment in growing Irish companies because some of the conditions attached to this scheme for investors are too onerous relative to the risks, and the scheme does not match how early-stage investing operates in practice. The relief is not even available for some of the more straightforward legal methods of investing in start-ups. These simple legal methods save start-ups vital time and money at a time when these are at a premium. This means that those who have invested earliest, taken the most risk, and accepted an instrument that best supports start-ups and founders are often penalised. There are many other similar concerns. The real question is why does this situation keep arising? There are several reasons. First, there is a lack of ambition. Ireland has shown great willingness to construct a business environment for foreign direct investment that is highly effective. Yet, when it comes to indigenous start-ups, we consistently administer a sub-therapeutic dose. A change that is so minimal that it is unlikely to have any impact in terms of delivering behavioural change. And behavioural change is what's needed. Individual investors need to be encouraged to invest in Irish start-ups rather than US stocks or low-interest deposit accounts. Talented people need to be encouraged to devote their energies to driving Irish innovation, building Irish success stories. Second, consultation with the ecosystem is frequently dogged by a culture of suspicion towards experts who might be able to guide policy effectively. The question is always: 'What's in it for them?' Third, there is also an official obsession with eliminating any possible vector of abuse no matter how obscure, unlikely or arcane it might be. This results in schemes that are so complex that, in many cases, start-ups can't afford the time or the cost, of engaging with the scheme. For example, Revenue guidance notes for EII now stretch to more than 100 pages and a professional review to determine eligibility typically costs at least €10,000. Many companies do not even apply for the research and development (R&D) tax credit, a highly beneficial scheme, because of the complexity involved. So, what's to be done? It is to be hoped that the geopolitical and trade uncertainty that characterises these times will, finally, drive some awareness of the threat to our existing economic model. The platform really is burning now. Many of the changes that are required do not have any significant exchequer cost. For example, the R&D tax credit is at present paid out over three years. In recent years, the amount that can be claimed in year one has been gradually increased, which is very welcome. A further increase in the year-one limit does not increase the total tax cost, but significantly helps start-ups from a cash-flow perspective. Similarly, there is no immediate cost to reform of the KEEP scheme, since tax consequences only arise when a company exits. Root-and-branch reform of existing schemes is also needed to ensure these are fit for purpose. This should be focused on simplification and eliminating the 'gotchas' that unnecessarily penalise start-ups, staff and investors. Most significantly, we need to look at funding. Multiple reports, including the State of European Tech 2024 (data sourced from Dealroom and Crunchbase), say the US invests at least four times as much, per capita, in venture capital as Europe does. Some estimates put the figure as high as six times. Even taking a longer-term view, over the decade 2015-2024, the US invested 0.53 per cent of GDP in venture capital, while in Ireland the figure was just 0.2 per cent. During that decade, Ireland also lagged behind 12 of our European neighbours including Estonia at 1.17 per cent, but also Sweden, the UK, Finland, France and Denmark. Meanwhile, US pension funds invest about 2 per cent of assets in venture capital, while European pension funds invest just 0.02 per cent. We must mobilise private capital as France, the UK and Denmark have successfully done by unlocking a portion of pensions fund savings for high-growth indigenous companies. At the very least, members of pension schemes should have the option to put a small portion of their pensions into funds investing in indigenous companies. That requires impetus and action. Brian Caulfield is an entrepreneur and venture capitalist who is chair of Scale Ireland, the representative organisation for tech start-up and scale-up companies. He is a venture partner at Molten Ventures and a former director of The Irish Times
Irish Times
8 hours ago
- Irish Times
Government ‘should take advantage' of stable building costs now, say surveyors
The Government should cash in on stable building costs by 'pushing forward' with its €275 billion National Development Plan , construction and property professionals said on Thursday. Construction costs rose 1.5 per cent in the first six months of the year, a report from the Society of Chartered Surveyors of Ireland (SCSI) said. Tomás Kelly, the society's vice-president, noted that the rate of building cost inflation had been easing over the last two years, hailing it a welcome development. 'The current period of tender price stability provides a great opportunity for Government to push forward with the much-needed infrastructure investment across a range of sectors,' Mr Kelly said. READ MORE He said the society welcomed this summer's updated National Development Plan, which earmarks €275 billion for spending on housing, water supply networks, electricity grid, transport and healthcare up to 2035. Mr Kelly said the water supply network needed investment 'urgently'. State-owned utility Uisce Éireann recently highlighted to Government the challenges it faced in building the infrastructure needed to supply water to the 300,000 new homes that the Coalition wanted built in the Republic by 2030. Why is Ireland not considered a truly rich country? Listen | 39:28 Government has allocated €36 billion of the national plan's total budget to the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage . The Department of Transport will get more than €22 billion. Big projects under its supervision include the controversial MetroLink line proposed from Dublin city centre to its airport. Mr Kelly, whose society represents quantity surveyors, the construction professionals who calculate the cost of building projects, also stressed that the State should boost the electricity network. EirGrid and ESB Networks , the companies responsible for this infrastructure, are seeking regulators' approval to spend up to €19 billion over the next five years. Each government department involved has to publish individual 'sectoral investment plans' detailing how they will spend the cash allocated to them. Mr Kelly urged the Government to publish these proposals quickly to provide details on the projects likely to get under way between now and 2030.
