The Chega candidate anticipates a final showdown with António José Seguro and issues a challenge to the prime minister.
Ventura wants to know which side Montenegro will take in the second round of the presidential election
Sunday, 11 January 2026RSS
Context & Explainers
- President of Portugal (since March 9, 2026)
- Party: Independent. Former leader of the Socialist Party (PS), Partido Socialista
- Center-left
António José Martins Seguro (born March 11, 1962, in Penamacor) is a lawyer, political scientist, and the current President of the Portuguese Republic, inaugurated on March 9, 2026 after winning the two-round presidential election in January–February 2026.
Career: He led Socialist Youth (1990–1994), served as MEP (1999–2001), was Minister Adjunct to PM António Guterres (2001–2002), and led the PS parliamentary group (2004–2005). Elected PS Secretary-General in 2011 with 68%, he led the opposition during Portugal's bailout era. In 2014, António Costa defeated him in party primaries by a landslide, prompting Seguro's resignation and a decade-long retreat from politics. He returned in 2025, launching the movement UPortugal and announcing his presidential candidacy in June. He received official PS backing in October 2025 and won the presidency in February 2026.
Political philosophy: Seguro positions himself as representing a "modern and moderate" left, advocating financial responsibility while opposing austerity. As President, he has emphasized institutional trust, efficient governance, and a collaborative relationship with the government while maintaining rigorous constitutional oversight.
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.
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Other news coverage of this topic
- Tracking poll 'made Cotrim de Figueiredo realise there is a lack of conviction on Marques Mendes's campaign, which he could exploit' • CNN Portugal
- Tracking poll, day 6: Seguro returns to first place, Ventura is overtaken and drops to third • CNN Portugal
- Tracking poll, day 6: Seguro again in front, Cotrim rises to second, Ventura on the podium • CNN Portugal
- Mendes: 'I will go through to the second round in first place' • Observador
- Admiral 'weary of cynicism' • Correio da Manhã
- Marques Mendes raises the bar: 'I will come first' • Observador
- On the ninth day of the official campaign, Marques Mendes raises the bar: "I will advance to the second round in first place" • RTP Notícias
- The trivialisation of tragedy • Correio da Manhã
- Politics, Deconstructed • Correio da Manhã
- A Little Fondness for Surprise • Público
- Ventura, the Government/Chega alliance and the second round • Público
- Cotrim de Figueiredo accuses rivals of 'lack of greatness' • RTP Notícias
- Seguro returns to the lead, Cotrim moves into second • Observador
- "Alguns comportamentos de Cotrim caem no ridículo": Marques Mendes deixa críticas a adversário à direita • Correio da Manhã
