Portugal’s election this Sunday was a tough defeat for the parties to the left of the Socialist Party (Partido Socialista, PS) — and also saw the far right consolidate its strength. Taking almost 42 percent of the vote, prime minister António Costa’s PS unexpectedly won an absolute majority in parliament, while the far-right Chega (Enough) advanced from one to twelve seats in the 230-member chamber, thus becoming the country’s third-largest political force.

In so doing, Chega overtook the parties of the Left, who both lost out heavily. The Left Bloc (Bloco de Esquerda, BE) fell from nineteen to five seats, and the Portuguese Communist Party (Partido Comunista Português, PCP) from twelve to six. The Greens (Verdes), who since 1983 have always stood in a coalition with the PCP, exited parliament entirely. However, Livre, which aims to be a sort of pro-European green party, did elect one member of the 230-seat parliament, as did the animal rights-focused PAN, down from four.

The fragmentation on the Portuguese right was visible even in the previous contest in 2019. Back then, two new parties — Chega and the market-fundamentalist Liberal Initiative (Iniciativa Liberal) — entered parliament for the first time, at the expense of the PSD, the main center-right force. This dynamic was confirmed on Sunday: alongside gains for Chega, the Iniciativa Liberal rose from one to eight seats, while the PSD fell from seventy-seven to seventy-one. Its main ally, the conservative CDS-PP, founded after the 1974 revolution, fell out of parliament altogether.