The suspense was broken when the PSD parliamentary leader, Hugo Soares, announced that the AD parties had reached an agreement with Chega to approve the Nationality Law and the amendment to the Penal Code regarding the loss of nationality. The agreement, which involved concessions from both sides, includes drug and arms trafficking as grounds for the loss of acquired nationality and reduces the criminal conviction period preventing naturalisation from five to three years. Chega leader André Ventura suggested this could be a positive sign for future right-wing collaborations, while the left-wing parties expressed strong opposition to the measures. The legislation was approved with a two-thirds majority, despite concerns regarding potential constitutional challenges.
Nationality Law unites the entire right in an understanding that could be repeated
Context & Explainers
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.
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.
RSS source
Other news coverage of this topic
- Government yields to Chega and approves more restrictive nationality law • Correio da Manhã
- André Ventura hopes the Constitutional Court 'does not create a problem' for the Nationality Law • RTP Notícias
- Right-wing parties approve Nationality bill, but risk of veto remains • Observador
- PS to evaluate whether to request review of loss of nationality as an accessory penalty • Correio da Manhã
- PS to evaluate new request for Constitutional Court review on loss of nationality • Público
- Ventura hopes the Constitutional Court 'does not create a problem' for the Nationality Law and speaks of a 'good agreement' • Correio da Manhã
- PS to evaluate whether to send nationality law back to the Constitutional Court • Expresso
- Loss of nationality for serious crimes approved again after Constitutional Court rejection • Correio da Manhã
