LISBON: Portugal will hold its third early elections in three years next Sunday, with polls suggesting that outgoing centre-right Prime Minister Luis Montenegro may have an edge in another hung parliament. Montenegro triggered the snap polls when he lost a confidence vote he had himself proposed after the opposition called for an inquiry into potential conflicts of interest related to a family consultancy firm.
Opinion polls suggest the results of the May 18 vote will be similar to those of the last election in March 2024, which produced a hung parliament. The Democratic Alliance has 32 per cent support, against 26.7 per cent for the main opposition Socialist Party (PS) led by 48-year-old economist Pedro Nuno Santos, according to an online poll aggregator run by Radio Renascenca.
The far-right Chega party, led by 42-year-old former TV sports commentator Andre Ventura, appears on track to finish third once again, making it a potential kingmaker. Throughout the campaign, however, Montenegro has repeatedly rejected any kind of alliance with the anti-immigration Chega, which critics accuse of promoting xenophobia. — AFP
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