After Netherlands, now Portugal: The surge of far-right across Europe

The rise of right-wing political factions got another boost in Europe after the results of Portugal’s general elections were announced on Sunday (10 March). While it was a tight contest between the two moderate mainstream parties, the gains of the far-right Chega party, which bagged the third place, have grabbed the most spotlight.

The centre-right Social Democrat-led Democratic Alliance (AD) claimed victory after it won 79 seats in the 230-seat National Assembly. The centre-left Socialist Party, which was in power in Portugal for the last eight years, won 77 seats, with its leader Pedro Nuno Santos conceding defeat, according to an Associated Press (AP) report.

The far-right Chega party was victorious in 48 seats, securing 18 per cent of the vote. Just two years back, it had won 12 seats in Parliament and 7 per cent of votes.

Let’s take a closer look.

Portugal election results

Claiming victory in the election, Democratic Alliance leader Luis Montenegro reiterated that he would not strike deals with Chega to form the government. However, it is unclear if he could govern without their backing, reported Reuters.

Chega, which translates to “Enough” in English, was formed just five years ago. It is led by 41-year-old Andre Ventura, a former trainee priest and television football commentator.

The 51-year-old PSD leader Montenegro has said earlier he would not rely on Chenga because of what he says are Ventura’s “often xenophobic, racist, populist and excessively demagogic” views, The Guardian noted.

Ventura said on Sunday that the election results show that Chega should be part of any AD-led government.

“This is a victory that needs to be heard in many places tonight.

“The will of the Portuguese was clear,” he said, as per Bloomberg.

The Socialist Party leader Nuno Santos congratulated the Democratic Alliance on its election success. “Everything indicates that the result won’t enable the Socialist Party to be the most voted party,” he was quoted as saying by Bloomberg.

The Socialist Party has been in power in Portugal since late 2015. The snap elections were triggered after Prime Minister Antonio Costa resigned last November following a probe into his government’s handling of big investment projects. Costa has not been accused of any wrongdoings.

What does the surge of Chega indicate?

As both the mainstream parties have failed to secure a majority, Chega has turned into a potential kingmaker for a conservative coalition.

The populist party, whose leaders have taken a tough anti-immigration stance and have called for stern sentences for criminals, cannot be ignored by whoever forms the government in Portugal.

“One thing is for sure tonight, the two-party system in Portugal is finished,” Chega’s Ventura said.

He asserted that the Social Democrats should join hands with his party in Parliament to get a majority. “We have a mandate to govern,” Ventura said, as per AP.

A minority government in Portugal with less than 116 seats in Parliament needs to depend on the Opposition to pass Bills. The support of Ventura’s party could be key for the ruling coalition.

Chenga’s gains indicate a major shift in the country. The right-of-centre parties will now dominate the Parliament having at least 135 seats out of 230, noted Bloomberg. The results of the final four parliamentary seats allocated to voters abroad are yet to be out.

As per Reuters, Portugal, which became a democracy only 50 years ago after the fall of a fascist dictatorship, was considered immune to the surge of right-wing political forces across Europe till now. However, the Sunday results signal a shift to the far-right in the country, in line with the trend witnessed across the continent.

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Rise of far-right across Europe

Europe’s rightward shift was bolstered after far-right populist Geert Wilders won the Netherlands elections in November. However, he is yet to form a government.

France and Germany are also reporting a surge of the far-right. Austria’s far-right Freedom Party is relying on young voters to come to power in this year’s national elections, reported The Washington Post.

In Italy, the far-right Brothers of Italy led by Giorgia Meloni is in power. Hungary is also ruled by far-right leader Viktor Orbán.

From Finland to Sweden, this rise of the far-right has been fuelled by young Europeans as per polls. The use of social media by populist leaders has helped to capture the imagination of younger voters.

“The [mainstream] parties aren’t talking the language of the young, but these more radical parties are. They are channeling the disillusionment of young voters with politics,” Peter Kreko, director of Political Capital, a Budapest-based think tank, told The Washington Post.

This rightward shift is also going to be visible in the upcoming European Parliament elections. Polls by Politico released last August showed that right-wing and Euroskeptic parties are expected to make big gains in the race this June.

The right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) could emerge as the third-largest faction in the European Parliament, winning 76 of the 720 available seats. The far-right Identity and Democracy (ID) group is likely to bag 84 seats.

There is not expected to be much difference in the number of seats won by the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) and the centre-left Socialists and Democrats (S&D).

The Left group, the Greens and the liberal Renew Europe bloc might have the most to lose.

With inputs from agencies