Portas: "The best thing to do is to preserve stability"

Tuesday, 10 March 2026RSS
Portas: "The best thing to do is to preserve stability"
Photo: DIOGO VENTURA/OBSERVADOR

Former CDS leader Paulo Portas addressed a PSD conference, emphasizing the necessity of long-term policy consistency and national stability to navigate an increasingly dangerous global landscape, while highlighting productivity as the key to wage growth.

Context & Explainers

Paulo Portas is a Portuguese politician and the former leader of the CDS–PP (Centro Democrático e Social – Partido Popular). He often appears in media commentary—according to the story he used his weekly TVI slot to announce he will vote for António José Seguro in the presidential run-off.

Luís Montenegro
  • Prime Minister, Portugal: 2024 - Present
  • Party: Social Democratic Party (PSD)

Luís Filipe Montenegro Cardoso de Morais Esteves (born February 16, 1973, in Porto) is a Portuguese lawyer and center‑right politician who has served as Prime Minister of Portugal since April 2, 2024. A long‑time member of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), he is the leading figure of the post‑Troika generation of Portuguese conservatives. ​ Montenegro was elected to the Assembly of the Republic in 2002 for the Aveiro district and remained an MP for 16 years, becoming PSD parliamentary leader from 2011 to 2017 during the bailout and austerity period under Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho. He was a prominent defender of strict austerity measures, arguing in 2014 that “the life of the people is no better, but the life of the country is a lot better,” a phrase that has followed his public image since. ​ After an unsuccessful leadership bid against Rui Rio in 2020, Montenegro won the PSD leadership in 2022. He then forged the centre‑right Democratic Alliance (PSD–CDS‑PP and allies), which won a plurality of seats in the 2024 legislative election. Refusing to partner with the far‑right Chega, which he has called “often xenophobic, racist, populist and excessively demagogic,” he formed a minority government as head of the XXIV Constitutional Government on April 2, 2024. ​ His first government fell in March 2025 after a no‑confidence vote linked to a conflict‑of‑interest affair, but fresh elections saw the Democratic Alliance increase its seat share, allowing Montenegro to return as prime minister leading the XXV Constitutional Government. His importance to Portugal lies in attempting to re‑center the traditional centre‑right after the crisis years, defending liberal‑conservative economics and EU alignment while drawing a sharp line against formal cooperation with the radical right, thus shaping how Portuguese democracy manages its new multi‑party era.

AI Summary AvailablePaulo Portas urges political stability to boost national productivityRead the synthesized summary with context and explainers
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