New Government leaves Admiral waiting

Ten days after the elections, the official website of the Presidency of the Republic published the expected official decision, "taking into account the results of the elections for the Assembly of the Republic, having heard the political parties represented therein, in accordance with the constitutional terms, and ensuring the parliamentary viability of the new executive, the President of the Republic today appointed Dr. Luís Montenegro as Prime Minister of the XXV constitutional government".

Over the last few days, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has been revealing to the press the conditions he considered essential for appointing the Prime Minister for the last time as head of state. The President even spoke of written commitments guaranteeing the viability of the government, but, after the second round of talks with the three largest political forces, the verbal guarantee arrived.

It all happened on the same afternoon that Gouveia e Melo was announced as a candidate to succeed Marcelo. Despite having been received at 5pm, in an audience that lasted only 20 minutes, and the announcement of the nomination having come out a few minutes later, with Montenegro's subsequent return to Belém, the truth is that after 7pm (the time scheduled for the admiral's announcement), Luís Montenegro had still not appeared in the coffee room to speak to the journalists. Result: at the Alcântara Maritime Station, the guests waited to hear what Gouveia e Melo said, who did not want to risk being interrupted by Montenegro. Coincidence? Knowing Marcelo and Montenegro, it is doubtful.

Carlos César's assurances Any concerns that the President still had about what to do after the votes were counted disappeared when the interim President of the Socialists arrived in Belém to say that the "normal" thing would be for Luís Montenegro to be nominated and the PS, he confirmed, would not approve any initiative that "obstructs" this.

César made a point of stressing that the socialists' position does not mean that they "subscribe" to the Government's programme, but that the PS "subscribes to the understanding of the Portuguese people".

Regarding the times ahead, César says that the PS must focus on the local elections in order to secure a victory that “reaffirms” the socialists as an alternative to the AD, and also on “seriously reflecting” on the electoral “failures” and these results. The next leader, he suggests, must be the “driving force” of this reflection that should not lead the PS to “move closer to the right”, nor to “shift to the left to distance itself”, but to move closer to the “desires of the Portuguese people”.

At the end of the hearing in Belém, Carlos César also confirmed that he already has an idea to solve the problem of parliamentary leadership (as we wrote on page 17), since Alexandra Leitão, who will be a candidate for Lisbon, will not be sworn in as a deputy and there will only be a new leader of the PS at the end of June. The interim President of the PS refused, however, to reveal the chosen name. But he does not want to reveal names before speaking to the parliamentary group.

Ventura does not promise to make things easier The position taken by the Chega leader after the meeting with Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa was very different.

«We made clear to the President what we had already guaranteed to the country: Chega was mandated to be leader of the opposition and will exercise these functions responsibly, seeking to ensure that there is a majority ready to govern when that situation arises».

Strengthened by the confirmation of an increase in votes, also in emigration circles, Ventura outlined his policies for the next legislature in Belém. He guaranteed that Chega will not allow the PCP's motion to reject the Government's programme. "We will not allow irresponsible and unrealistic solutions to create a new political crisis at a time when the Portuguese want stability and an operational Government and Parliament."

“Don’t expect us to give you carte blanche and be a mirror image of the PS,” he warns. “This is truly a different party, with a different attitude.

Aware that Chega has been the pivot of national political life since 18 May, Ventura used an expression immortalised by António Costa to say how he will exercise his opposition: “Get used to it, there will be serious scrutiny. We will not leave a single inch of corruption uninvestigated.” Ventura says that Montenegro’s “no means no” is no longer an issue, because there are no longer any questions of governability and the Portuguese have chosen Chega “as the leader of the opposition.” “It is not good for them to be forming collusions and distributing positions,” he says, referring to the PSD and PS.

“Chega must be prepared at any time to be the Government, which means being an alternative,” he stressed.

For now, Chega will allow the new legislature to begin without any problems, unlike what happened in 2024, when it made the election of the President of the Assembly of the Republic impossible. This time, Ventura says he knows that there are talks taking place between the parliamentary benches and that Chega is having a “constructive perspective” and that “it is not impossible” to reach a broad understanding on the matter of representative seats in the AR. Once in office, doubts persist regarding the course of the legislature. The leader of Chega does not abdicate his role as the main opposition party, “when a country elects an opposition leader, it does not elect him to be a crutch for the Government. You cannot be fish and meat at the same time. The country must have a clear alternative to the AD Government because it can hold elections”, argues Ventura, in a statement very similar to what Pedro Nuno Santos said a year ago, justifying his unavailability to reach agreements with Montenegro, which he later ended up doing. Will Chega do the same? It won't be easy, because Ventura is on the rise. This time it's Montenegro who wants to avoid elections.

Another issue that the Chega leader left open and that could dictate the future of national political life is the decision on whether or not to proceed with a commission of inquiry into the Spinumviva case. Ventura says he is waiting for the clarifications that will be given to the Public Prosecutor's Office and will then make a decision. In this case, Chega will “evaluate” whether to proceed with a CPI, which he “does not rule out”. “If it has to go ahead, it will go ahead without any fear, as we did with the twins' case”, he recalled. As he showed in his first speeches after the elections, Ventura already has a clear path for the coming months.