LISBON, Mar 11 (AFP): Portugal looked set on Monday for a period of political uncertainty after no party won a majority in the election at the weekend and the far-right surged into the role of potential kingmaker.
The centre-right Democratic Alliance (AD), which won the most seats in Sunday's vote, is expected to be tapped in coming days to try to form a government.
AD beat the incumbent Socialist Party (PS), but took just 79 seats-far short of a majority in the 230-seat parliament.
Even with the backing of tiny business-friendly party Liberal Initiative (IL), the AD would still need the support of anti-immigration party Chega to reach a majority of 116 seats in the assembly.
Chega posted the biggest gains winning 48 seats, up from just 12 in the last election in 2022, cementing its position in Portugal's political landscape.
Chega has demanded to be part of a rightist coalition government in exchange for parliamentary support, but AD leader Luis Montenegro repeatedly ruled out any post-election agreement with the party branded as xenophobic by its critics.
An AD minority government "could face significant obstacles to legislating over time and require support on a case-by-case basis," said Javier Rouillet of ratings agency Morningstar DBRS.
"If the new government is unable to pass legislation, this could raise the prospect of another round of elections later this year or early next year,' he added.
Passage of the 2025 budget will likely constitute "the first major test" for an AD-led minority government, Rouillet said.
Portugal faces uncertainty after knife-edge election
FE Team | Published: March 11, 2024 21:23:08
Portugal faces uncertainty after knife-edge election
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