Center-right allies with the left to govern Portugal and isolates the far-right Chega party | World

The center-right and left-wing deputies of the Parliament of Portugal came together to elect José Pedro Aguiar-Branco as president of the Assembly of the Republic and leave Chega, the far-right party, out of the government coalition this Wednesday (27).

Aguiar-Branco had 160 votesand the candidate of He arrivesRui Paulo Sousa, had 50 votes among parliamentarians.

The center-right and the left-wing Socialist Party made a agreement by which the presidency of Parliament will be rotated: it will remain with Aguiar-Branco for two years and, at the end of that period, he will resign so that a socialist candidate can be elected to the position.

Aguiar-Branco was elected this Wednesday in the fourth vote among parliamentarians.

The Social Democratic Party is one of those that form the Democratic Alliance (AD) coalition, the winner of the general elections that took place on March 10. The Socialist Party came in second, just a few votes behind.

In third place was the far-right party Chega, which quadrupled its parliamentary representation, reflecting a political inclination towards right-wing populism across Europe.

Together, the PSD and the socialists have 156 seats in the Parliament of 230 deputies, enough to elect a president.

Analysts have predicted instability for the AD minority government, which has just 80 seats and is unlikely to be able to pass laws without the support of Chega, whose leader André Ventura demanded a long-term agreement in exchange for support.

AD leader, Luis Montenegro, refused any formal agreement with Chega.

On Monday, Ventura said that his party had reached an “understanding” with the AD regarding the election of Aguiar Branco.

However, after several DA members denied the existence of an agreement, their candidate failed to gain enough votes, and Ventura accused the AD of “trampling” Chega.

Right-wing leader is new prime minister of Portugal

After the commitment announced on Wednesday, Ventura said that this clearly showed that the PSD had chosen its “journey companion” for its mandate and that it now needs to govern with him.