Free Republic

Europe is continuing its shift to the right, as voters in Portugal on Sunday rejected socialist governance and cemented the populist-nationalist Chega party as a major political force in the country and potentially a coalition partner in the next government. Following a corruption scandal hitting the highest levels of the socialist government of António Costa, whose own chief of staff and other government ministers were arrested on suspicion of corruption, forcing the PM to announce his resignation and call for an early election, the party has tumbled in the weekend’s election.

Portugal’s Socialists conceded defeat in a parliamentary election on Sunday which saw the far-right emerge as the biggest winner. With nearly 99% of votes counted, the center-right AD coalition had secured 77 seats against 75 seats for the Socialists. “Everything indicates that the result won’t enable the Socialist Party to be the most voted party," Socialist leader Pedro Nuno Santos said. He congratulated the AD for their election victory. Far-right party Chega recorded the biggest jump in support compared with the 2022 election - it has already won 46 seats, almost quadrupling its current tally. This means the AD would...