Le elections in Portugal end with a clear cut socialist victory, which – with 41,68% of the votes – they get the absolute majority in Parliament and therefore confirm Antonio Costa at the head of the Government.
The result went far beyond expectations: the socialists indeed conquered 117 seats out of 230 which make up the single chamber of the Portuguese Parliament. Not even the polls most favorable to Costa's party had predicted a similar result.
The centre-right of the Social Democratic Party instead stopped at 71 seats (equal to 27,8% of the votes) and the extreme right of Enough to 12 seats (with 7,1% of the votes). For the latter formation, however, the electoral round marks a more than remarkable leap forward, considering that in the previous legislature it was represented by a single parliamentarian. However, Chega is also the only party with which Costa has ruled out any possibility of collaboration.
Having an absolute majority "does not mean having absolute power", commented Prime Minister Costa, announcing the figure that surprised all Portuguese pollsters. In any case, Costa will not have to negotiate with the other parties to form a government coalition.
Those that took place on Sunday were early elections. The previous legislature was interrupted last November with the fall of the Costa government, a minority executive supported externally by two radical left parties: the Communist Party and the Left Bloc. At the time, in fact, the socialists controlled only 108 seats.
It was the cause of the crisis lack of agreement on the 2022 budget law, rejected by far-left forces, who wanted more ambitious measures, such as an increase in minimum wages, pensions and workers' salaries, and more funding for the national health service.
The surprise result of the Portuguese elections unlocks this stalemate, because allows Costa to carry on alone, no longer having to negotiate with the radical left.
The new government will also have to manage the 16,6 billion euros arriving from Europe under the Next Generation Eu programme.
