Portugal’s PM Montenegro to submit to confidence motion, new election possible

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Portugal’s PM Montenegro to submit to confidence motion, new election possible

6:33 CAT | 05 Mar 2025

File photo: Portugal's Prime Minister Luis Montenegro speaks during the no-confidence motion at the parliament in Lisbon, Portugal, February 21, 2025. REUTERS/Pedro Nunes

Portugal’s Prime Minister Luis Montenegro said on Wednesday he would submit his year-old minority government to a motion of confidence, which could lead to its dismissal if the two main opposition parties vote to reject it, as they have indicated.

At the centre of the new political crisis that could trigger a third early election since 2022 is a consultancy firm owned by Montenegro’s family, which has made contracts with private companies that the opposition says have benefitted the premier. Montenegro has denied any conflict of interest.

“The country needs political clarification and this is the moment…the country cannot remain a prisoner of selfishness and tactics on the part of the opposition,” he told parliament, adding that while a potential new election was not what the country needed, his party was ready to go to the polls.

It was not immediately clear when such a motion could be voted.

The main opposition Socialists and far-right party Chega, which together have more than half of all parliamentary seats, have said they will reject the confidence motion.

Such an outcome implies the dismissal of the government under the constitution, although since the return of democracy in 1974, only one out of 11 such motions has been rejected by Portugal’s parliament, in 1977.

If that happens, some analysts expect President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa to dissolve parliament and call an early election.

The centre-right coalition has just 80 seats in the 230-seat parliament, while the Socialists have 78 and Chega 50.

By Sergio Goncalves and Andrei Khalip

Source: Reuters