As expected, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa was re-elected president of Portugal in the context of the presidential elections on Sunday 24 January. The centre-right candidate won 60,7% of the votes against the 12,97% obtained by Ana Gomes, candidate of the socialist party. Third was the leader of the far-right party Chenga, André Ventura, with 11,9% of the votes, a real record that surprised many commentators. Until a few years ago, Portugal was one of the few remaining states in Europe that did not experience the growth of extremist parties.
Thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic, the turnout was less than 40% (39,5% to be precise), significantly lower than in the recent elections. According to data provided by Johns Hopkins University, Portugal has the highest rates in the world of new infections and daily deaths per 100.000 inhabitants, and its public health system is currently in serious pain.
Going back to politics, Portugal thus confirms the set-up that has characterized it in recent years, with the centre-right social democratic party in the presidency and the socialist party - led by the prime minister Antonio Costa – to the Government.
Rebelo de Sousa, 72, is a former law professor and television political commentator, elected President of the Republic for the first time in 2016. In recent weeks, he has faced heavy criticism from his political opponents (as well as Premier Costa) for his management of the pandemic. The president himself admitted that the country has failed in managing the emergency and endorsed the possibility that the current lockdown could be extended until March.
