Yesterday afternoon, Luís Montenegro, the new Prime Minister of Portugal, met with the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, to present the names of the new conservative government. Montenegro also made its debut as head of government amid great secrecy and concern. The conservative leader kept secret the names of those who make up the XXIV Constitutional Government of Portugal until the last moment. The inauguration of the executive branch will take place next Tuesday.
It only took 15 minutes for the Portuguese Prime Minister to present the composition of his cabinet. Although the Portuguese expected the announcement yesterday, Thursday, the names of this new government caused little surprise since Montenegro had to do so since it was a weak government in the sense that it was without an absolute majority after the elections of March 10th was formed in parliament to put “all cards” on those who are “close” to it in the Social Democratic Party (PSD, center-right). The political alternative that has been discussed for months will not be feasible given the very predictable composition of the cabinet.
Traditionally, the President of the Assembly of the Republic (which oversees the government), which is the country’s second most important body after the President of the Republic, has the same political affiliation as the winner of the election. Montenegro suggested José Pedro Aguiar Branco and it would be natural that he would be chosen due to a comfortable parliamentary majority.
The thing is that this was not the case and it took two days and could not be done in the traditional way due to the contempt that Montenegro has shown recently. André Ventura. The leader of the far-right Chega party did not support the PSD candidate for the presidency of parliament, so the prime minister had to negotiate with the main opposition party, the Socialist Party (PS). As a result of the negotiations, and contrary to the tradition of a legislative period that was supposed to last four years, the PS and PSD shared the presidency: two years for the Conservatives and the next two for the Socialists. A sign of the difficulties that Chega caused from day one when he wanted to assert himself in politics, which the PS and Montenegro do not want. After its success, the extreme right wants to maintain its position as the third force in the country bring together the dissatisfaction of the Portuguese at the ballot box.
The election of the President of Parliament, which is usually peaceful and quick, shows the instability that this government, and therefore the Portuguese, are likely to face.
Meanwhile, outgoing Prime Minister António Costa yesterday presented the balance sheet of his eight years in government. The socialist leader boasted of leaving his “coffers full” and claimed to have left the country with the largest budget surplus in a democracy.
However, the PSD rejects this narrative and counters that the above-mentioned surplus is due, on the one hand, to the inflationary situation in which Portugal lives and, on the other hand, to the excessive budgetary burden. The reality is that the PS wants to look good in the photo in order to be able to say later that it left the conservatives a country in good hands and that the PSD did not know how to take advantage of the favorable situation in which the Iberian country finds itself found that exploit should be “delivered”.
The first test of this government will come in the European elections on June 9th. The PSD could lose the elections, but in practice nothing would happen. The obstacles created by Chega and the socialist opposition could lead voters to vote against the new government just two months after its formation. These are all adverse circumstances that do not allow the government’s constitution to be as inclusive as possible with regard to competent people from civil society and limited to the hard core of Luís Montenegro. It could be a sign that society does not believe in the longevity of the new Portuguese government.