The Portuguese Socialist Party (PS) is blocking the election of external parliamentary bodies, including the Constitutional Court and the Council of State, which has led to repeated delays. André Ventura of Chega accuses the PS of preventing his party's participation in key decision-making organs, such as the Constitutional Court, despite previous joint efforts. The PS has requested postponements to ensure proper representation and is engaged in ongoing negotiations, with the next discussion scheduled for March 25. The dispute highlights political disagreements over parliamentary appointments and the PS’s resistance to Chega’s inclusion in these institutions.
PS trava eleição de órgãos externos ao Parlamento e Ventura acusa socialistas de "bloqueio" ao Chega
Tuesday, 17 March 2026RSS
Context & Explainers
The Constitutional Court (Tribunal Constitucional) is Portugal's highest court for constitutional review, responsible for checking whether laws and statutes comply with the Constitution and for annulling or suspending unconstitutional measures. FNAM's push for a review matters because the court can strike down or block parts of the regional emergency services statute, directly affecting how emergency care is regulated.
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.
