The Portuguese parliament overthrew the Government of the Right Center on Tuesday in voting without trust, forcing the third national elections in just over three years.
The annual government of Luis Montenegro was insecure from the very beginning, controlled far less than the majority in parliament, and was recently stunned by a controversy because of his business.
President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said that elections to form a new government could be held in May.
The Democratic Federation of Mr. Crgagre, the Coalition of Conservative Parties, finished first in the elections in March 2024, but with only 29 percent of the vote, barely ahead of the Socialist Party. AND Hard real chega funJust a few years, he secured 18 percent of the vote to finish third.
Since no party could assemble a majority coalition, Mr. Montenegro formed a minority government.
Last month, the Portuguese newspaper reported that the Prime Minister’s family had a property and a consulting company, and that there was an operator of a casino among his clients whose concession contracts depended on the government’s decisions.
Mr. Montenegro said he conveyed his owner’s share to his wife in 2022 and that he had not directly profited from it since he took power. But the opposition parties said that revelation caused concern about the potential serious conflicts of interest and demanded investigations, which encouraged the vote of the trust that the Government lost on Tuesday.
The Socialist Party, which operated from 2015 to 2024, and Chegs, benefits from the damage to the main conservatives, but both have been charged with their own ethical omissions.
Chega MP was charged in January of luggage stealing at Lisbon Airport, and in February, an older member of the party was accused of paying a minor for sex, which hit the image of the party and order. Both were expelled from the party.
In January 2022, the Socialist Party won the absolute majority of Parliament, allowing him to manage without coalition partners. However, in November 2023, the name of Prime Minister António Costa was linked to an investigation of suspicious links between government officials and a Liti and hydrogen research company, which led to his resignation and choice.
Mr. Costa has not been charged and has since become the president of the European Council, a group of government leaders, but the former chief of his staff is facing accusations in that case.
