Portugal: Government of Luís Montenegro fails due to the question of trust

After just under a year in office, the conservative minority government fell in Portugal. Prime Minister Luís Montenegro clearly lost the vote on the question of trust in the parliament in Lisbon. Montenegro had been driven into confinement by the opposition in recent weeks. It was about allegations of a conflict of interest for a family business of the 52-year-old.

Portugal is about the third parliamentary election since the beginning of 2022. President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa could now commission another politician of the Democratic Allianz (AD) government alliance or opposition leader Pedro Nuno Santos from the Socialist Party PS with the formation of a new government. However, it is likely that the head of state will dissolve the parliament and call out elections.

Due to the intensifying crisis, Rebelo had canceled a visit to Estonia planned for Wednesday last week and asserted it to journalists that he wanted to ensure a quick solution. A new election could take place on May 11th or 18, he said at the time.

The crisis came as a surprise, because even after the change of government in spring 2024, the former EU debt resident continued to record good growth rates and historically low unemployment with continued strict spending discipline. But events have been overturning for a few weeks.

The opposition accuses Montenegro. The advisory and real estate company Spinumviva, founded by the trained lawyer in 2021, is said to have benefited from the position of the prime minister in order to sign contracts with private companies. The head of government denies all irregularity. The company now only belongs to its sons. However, he did not reveal any information about the company’s customers.

As part of the affair, Montenegro survived two no confidence. However, since the opposition still did not want to give up its plans for an investigation commission, he asked the question of trust. The new election is a “necessary evil”. “Two months of instability are better than a year and a half of slow decay,” emphasized the outgoing head of government.

According to observers, Montenegro accepts the possible new election because he definitely wanted to prevent a grueling examination – and because his alliance AD ​​can even hope for a better result than in March 2024. The overthrown politician has already announced that he wanted to run again despite the allegations.

The last election was only on March 10, 2024, after the then socialist Prime Minister António Costa had resigned due to corruption investigations against him and other government members. According to the current status, Costa has not been guilty. The 63-year-old is now President of the European Council.