The winner of Portugal’s early parliamentary elections, Luis Montenegro, was appointed prime minister on Wednesday evening. The 51-year-old lawyer from the center-right Democratic Alliance (AD) succeeds socialist António Costa, who took over at the end of 2015.
Montenegro will present its new government next Wednesday, he told reporters after meeting President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa. She is scheduled to start work on April 2. The AD won the parliamentary elections in Portugal on March 10, ultimately gaining about a third of the seats, with a narrow lead over the Socialists who were previously in power. However, the centre-right alliance clearly missed the necessary majority of 116 seats in the 230-seat parliament.
Formation of a minority government
However, due to the narrow victory in the March 10 parliamentary elections, Montenegro will have to form a minority government.
In Portugal, the government does not need to be confirmed by parliament. A first “important test” for an AD minority government would be the approval of the 2025 budget. Regardless of the success of the future government, parliament must find a way to pass laws: in Portugal, the chamber can only be dissolved six months after elections have taken place at the earliest.
The early elections were called after Socialist Costa resigned in November due to allegations of corruption against those around him. Although the investigation against Costa himself was quickly closed, he did not stand again for the new elections.
Source: Krone
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