Portugal: conservatives and right-populists team up
Portugal's conservative minority government under Prime Minister Luís Montenegro has passed a new migration law with the votes of André Ventura's right-wing populist Chega party, significantly tightening family reunification regulations among other things. With local elections looming, the national press debates the motives and consequences of this cooperation between the two parties.
Dialogue with everyone could prove fatal
If the conservatives' strategy fails, the country faces the prospect of the right-wing populists gaining ever more influence, warns Jornal de Notícias:
“At a time when Chega continues to grow and the forthcoming local elections are particularly relevant, the PSD [led by Prime Minister Luís Montenegro] is sticking to its logic of engaging in dialogue with 'everyone', ignoring the anti-democratic positions and hate speech of André Ventura's party. Tactically, it is very likely that it will make a mistake and end up being crushed by the party to which it is offering normality. That will be a problem for the PSD. The bigger problem for the country is that the far right is growing without resistance or blockades.”
Ventura's party faces moment of truth
Whether the right-wing populists have what it takes to govern will only become clear after the local elections, Correio da Manhã explains:
“What happened in parliament with the vote on the new immigration laws was a symbolic moment. Chega and Ventura got their foot in the door of government. Now they will try to open up the doors of power. ... To achieve this, Chega faces a moment of high risk in the local elections. However, the risk is not that it will receive too few votes, but the opposite. Every municipality Ventura wins will pose a risk for the party. ... It must govern well, because it will be under close scrutiny. This will be its moment of truth.”