Portugal faces new elections as Parliament has a vote of confidence

The government of the Portuguese Prime Minister Luís Montenegro is expected to lose a vote of confidence on Tuesday, throwing the country to its third general election in just three years.

The majority of parliamentarians are expected to vote against them, demolishing their minority Center law government.

While the president of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, is not obliged to dissolve the assembly, has made it clear that if the government loses Tuesday’s vote, with new elections probably in May.

The motion of confidence was presented by the government itself, after the opposition socialists announced plans for parliamentary investigation into Montenegro’s businesses.

A company called Spinumviva, created by Luís Montenegro, continued to receive considerable sums of customers that he had previously secured, even after being elected president of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and opposition leader in 2022, and had transferred the property to his wife and two children.

The legality of the transfer to his wife was interrogated by the opposition, since the marriage is one in which the assets are maintained together; Since then, the couple has turned their owners.

But there are questions about the company’s income sources, which until a few days ago included € 4,500 (£ 3,800) per month of the hotels and the group of Casino Soluccde, whose game concession is at the review, as well as the identity of other clients, which the prime minister has rejected to reveal, and the Spinumviva service offers.

The Prime Minister, a trained lawyer, says that the firm provides consulting services related to data privacy laws, subcontracting the work to external experts, since his wife is a child’s stroller, a child a student and the other a new graduate.

The Lawyer Association is now investigating whether the company offers services illegally that only lawyers can offer.

In recent days, the Montenegro cabinet has approved an expense battery and other measures, in what is considered an attempt to prove that it is working hard for the country.

The situation may seem to offer ideal conditions for the extreme right -right Chega, the third largest party in Parliament, to renew its attacks against corruption in politics.

Chega also benefited from the resignation of the socialist predecessor of Montenegro, António Costa, who is now president of the European Council. His name had emerged in a criminal investigation into government contracts, although he has never become suspicious.

But in recent weeks, Chega has been beaten by his own scandals, with three of his parliamentarians accused of crimes, including a accused of stealing suitcases at the Lisbon airport.

Until recently, the coalition of Luís Montenegro with the conservative Popular Party was still ahead of the Socialists in the opinion surveys, since it won the general elections of 2024 a year ago.

However, they are now following the Socialists, led by Pedro Nuno Santos, who served as Minister under Antonio Costa.

None of the main parties seem interested in a quick choice, especially since they fear that voters do not get excited to have to choose a new government when the current one has been in office for less than a year, and the moment is poor in geopolitical terms.

However, Portugal appears on an unwavering route for the May elections.

The prime minister has not only chosen to appeal to the voters instead of facing an investigation, a position described as “coward” by the opposition leader.

But Pedro Nuno Santos has long committed not to vote in favor of any motion of confidence of the government.