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Parties reach agreement on new Constitutional Court judges

Tuesday, 7 April 2026AI summary
🏛️ Government⚖️ Legal#constitutional-court#government-policy#political-appointments
Parties reach agreement on new Constitutional Court judges
Photo: RTP Notícias

The Social Democratic Party (Partido Social Democrata or PSD), the Socialist Party (Partido Socialista or PS), and the Chega party have reached a three-way understanding to elect four new judges to the Constitutional Court (Tribunal Constitucional). While the agreement aims to resolve a long-standing impasse, the move has drawn criticism from the Left Bloc (Bloco de Esquerda or BE), which opposes the inclusion of Chega in the selection process.

Update: Parties agree to delay Constitutional Court election until May

The major political parties have officially postponed the election of new judges until May. This delay allows the parties to address four vacancies simultaneously, with the PSD set to nominate two candidates, while the PS and Chega will each select one.

Context & Explainers

What is the PSD political party?

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.

What is the PS political party?

Socialist Party (PS)

  • Leader: José Luís Carneiro (since June 2025)
  • Ideology: Center-left, Social democracy, pro-Europeanism

Portugal's other traditional major party suffered a historic collapse in the 2025 election, dropping from 78 to 58 seats and falling to third place for the first time in democratic history. The party was led by Pedro Nuno Santos from January 2024 until his resignation following the May 2025 defeat. José Luís Carneiro, a 53-year-old former Minister of Internal Administration known for his moderate positioning within the party, was elected unopposed as the new Secretary-General with 95% of votes in June 2025. ​ The Socialist Party governed Portugal from 2015 to 2024, including an absolute majority from 2022 to 2024 under António Costa, who resigned in November 2023 amid a corruption investigation. The PS previously led the innovative "Geringonça" (contraption) coalition government from 2015-2019, a minority government supported by the Left Bloc and Portuguese Communist Party that reversed austerity measures and presided over economic recovery.

Chega

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.

  • Former Mayor of Porto (2002–2013)
  • Former PSD Leader (2018–2022)
  • Party: Social Democratic Party (PSD), Partido Social Democrata

Rui Fernando da Silva Rio (born 1957) is a Portuguese politician and tax consultant known for his moderate, fiscally disciplined approach to center-right politics. As mayor of Porto for over a decade, he was credited with stabilizing the city's finances and overseeing urban regeneration.

He led the PSD from 2018 to 2022, adopting a conciliatory tone that contrasted with the more combative style of other PSD leaders. He lost the 2022 legislative election to the PS's António Costa (who won an absolute majority) and was succeeded as PSD leader by Luís Montenegro. He remains an influential voice in PSD internal debates and is occasionally cited in commentary on the party's direction.

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