Portuguese government collapses after no-trust vote

MADRID/ ISTANBUL

A minority right-wing government established in Portugal around 11 months ago collapsed on Tuesday, following failure to gain enough votes in a confidence motion in Parliament due to corruption allegations against Prime Minister Luis Montenegro.

This marks the second time since the end of the dictatorship and the return of democracy in 1974 that a government has fallen in a confidence vote, the first being in 1977, 48 years ago.

The reason for the collapse of the right-wing minority government, which had not even completed its first year, was the corruption allegations against Prime Minister Montenegro related to his family business "Spinumviva," which he founded and later transferred its shares to his wife and two children after becoming politically active.

Montenegro, after two motions of no-confidence —one on Feb. 21 by the far-right Chega party and the other on March 4 by the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP)—sought a confidence vote in an attempt to overcome the political crisis his minority government faced.

In today's vote in Parliament, which has a total of 230 members, the government received 142 "no" votes and 88 "yes" votes.

Apart from the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and Christian Democrats in the minority government, only the opposition Liberal Initiative (IL) supported the confidence vote, while the main opposition Socialist Party (PS), along with other opposition parties such as the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP), Left Bloc (BE), Livre (L), People-Animal-Nature (PAN), and the far-right Chega parties that had supported the formation of the minority government, voted against it.

The government's attempt to withdraw the confidence vote after a one-on-one meeting between Prime Minister Montenegro and the main opposition leader, Pedro Nuno Santos, and proposals for a 15-day Parliamentary Investigation Commission regarding the allegations against Montenegro were rejected.

In his speech during the parliamentary session, Prime Minister Montenegro blamed the main opposition, the PS, for disrupting "economic stability," claiming that the Portuguese people did not want early elections.

Montenegro also announced that he would once again be his party's candidate for prime minister.

PS leader Santos, however, demanded that a Parliamentary Investigation Commission be established regarding the allegations against Montenegro for the withdrawal of the confidence vote, arguing that the sole responsible for the crisis was "Montenegro, who does not clear the doubts."

PS argued that the Investigation Commission should last 90 days, stating that the 15-day period requested by the government was "not serious."

After the government's collapse, the Portuguese people will have to go to the polls for the third time in three years.

It is expected that Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa will decide on early elections on either May 11 or 18.

According to some polls published in the Portuguese press today, the crisis faced by the government has led to an increase in support for the main opposition, the Socialist Party, which is likely to be the winner in a possible election.

- Minority government's 1st year

Antonio Costa, currently the president of the EU Council, resigned from his position as prime minister in November 2023 after being named a suspect in a corruption investigation, despite re-election in the early general elections on Jan. 30, 2022.

After the early general elections, Prime Minister Montenegro formed a minority government on April 2, 2024, with the Democratic Alliance (AD), an alliance of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) with 78 seats and the Christian Democrats (2), following the general elections that took place about 11 months ago.

- Allegations against Montenegro

According to reports in the Portuguese media, Montenegro’s family business, Spinumviva, which he founded and transferred its shares to his wife and two children after being elected PSD leader in 2022, is involved in some dealings with Solverde, a company that holds concessions for many hotels and casinos in Portugal.

It is also claimed that Montenegro, who is also a lawyer, was the legal representative of Solverde during important negotiations between 2018 and 2022 regarding casino concessions with the government.

In response to the reports, Solverde announced on March 4 that it had canceled its contract with Spinumviva to "protect the company's name."