A 'great commotion' in the Assembly of the Republic after a PSD MP pointed his finger at a Chega MP. The cameras had been focused on Aguiar-Branco, and there are already complaints: 'Curiously, these things are never filmed.'
Parliament's VAR fails. 'And Chega is the one that's this and that?'
Monday, 12 January 2026RSS
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Context & Explainers
A parliamentary inquiry (comissão parlamentar de inquérito) is a temporary committee the Assembly of the Republic sets up to investigate serious public incidents or administrative failures, with powers to summon witnesses and request documents. In this case a committee could examine INEM’s practices and response, produce findings and recommend legal or policy changes to improve emergency services.
The Assembly of the Republic (Assembleia da República) is Portugal’s unicameral parliament of 230 deputies elected for four‑year terms; it makes laws, approves the budget and oversees the government. It approved the law strengthening penalties and rules for train drivers on 19 December 2025, demonstrating how parliamentary decisions directly change safety and labour rules that affect public services.
Chega ("Enough") is a Portuguese far-right populist party founded in 2019 by André Ventura. It positions itself as an anti-establishment movement against what it calls a "rotten and corrupt system" of PS-PSD dominance. The party surged from 1.3% in 2019 to 22.8% in May 2025, becoming parliament's second-largest force with 60 seats. Chega's core platform emphasizes strict immigration control—ending automatic CPLP residency, deporting non-independent immigrants, implementing job-market quotas, and requiring five-year social security contributions before benefit access. It advocates radical constitutional reform, including reducing parliament to 100 members, abolishing the prime minister position for a presidential system, and dismantling public healthcare. Law-and-order policies include life imprisonment and chemical castration proposals.
The party is defined by inflammatory anti-Romani rhetoric, with Ventura convicted multiple times for discrimination. Chega maintains international alignments with European far-right figures including Marine Le Pen, Santiago Abascal, and Matteo Salvini. Mainstream Portuguese parties, including Prime Minister Luís Montenegro's government, have imposed a cordon sanitaire, refusing coalition with Chega despite its parliamentary strength.
The Social Democratic Party ('Partido Social Democrata' or 'PSD') is a liberal-conservative political party in Portugal that is the leading partner of the The Democratic Alliance (AD) which is the country's ruling party, with Prime Minister Luís Montenegro.
The Social Democratic Party, despite its name, occupies the centre-right of Portugal's political spectrum. Luís Montenegro, who became Prime Minister in April 2024, leads Portugal's current minority government. The PSD has been one of Portugal's two dominant parties since 1974, having formed nine governments including four with absolute majorities. Montenegro, a former party leader from 1996-1999, was elected with the highest approval rating among party leaders at 10.7 points out of 20.
The Democratic Alliance is a centre-right coalition that includes the smaller CDS – People's Party, a Christian democratic party that has historically been the PSD's coalition partner. Together, they govern without a parliamentary majority, requiring case-by-case support from opposition parties to pass legislation.
