Local elections in Portugal: rout for right-wing populists
In local elections in Portugal on Sunday, the two major parties, Prime Minister Luís Montenegro's centre-right PSD and the Socialist Party (PS), won a majority of the votes in most cities and municipalities. By contrast, the right-wing populist Chega party, which had emerged as the main opposition party in the parliamentary elections in May, fell far short of expectations in these elections.
Consensus instead of division
The PSD and PS have emerged stronger from the local elections, says Correio da Manhã:
“The result is proof of the enormous resilience of the two largest parties, which is essentially based on their local roots. ... This was already indicated by the fact that Chega found it difficult to find credible candidates in a handful of important municipalities. The election also underlined the need for dialogue. In most major cities, the parties will be forced to negotiate solutions in order to govern the municipalities. The message is clear: the heated, increasingly emotional and aggressive tone of the political debate must cool down - consensus is now needed instead of political tension.”
Chega faceless at the local level
Chega leader André Ventura failed to present convincing candidates at the local level, writes Observador:
“There's an old saying in politics that all politics is local politics. If you can't establish a direct connection with voters, if you can't identify with their very specific everyday problems, you'll have a hard time winning their support in the long term. This also explains why Chega fell far short of expectations: firstly, because putting up posters across the whole country with party leader André Ventura - alongside candidates who in many cases had neither a recognisable local agenda nor local root - doesn't work. And secondly, because protest voters have far more reasons at the national level than in their own community to be angry.”