WEB DESK
In Portugal, the center-right Democratic Alliance (AD) has won the general election, however, it is unclear if its leader Luis Montenegrohe could govern without the support from far-right Chega. Till now he has refused to negotiate with Chega, which is a nativist anti-establishment party led by André Ventura. Chega’s parliamentary representation more than quadrupled to at least 48 lawmakers in the 230-seat legislature, giving the combined right a majority.
The Democratic Alliance and its conservative allies in the insular Madeira region won a total of at least 79 seats, ahead of the Socialist Party’s 77.
Earlier, Montenegro’s main rival, Pedro Nuno Santos, conceded defeat after his left-leaning Socialist Party, in power since 2015, came in second by a razor-thin margin. He ruled out supporting the AD’s platform which includes across-the-board tax cuts.
President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa still has to formally invite the AD leader to form a government, which Montenegro said he expected to happen.
The result marks another important advance for the right in the EU, where conservatives have won elections or joined coalitions in Italy, Greece, Sweden, and Finland in the past two years.