The Social Democratic Party (Partido Social Democrata or PSD) and the PS have both indicated they will not support a constitutional revision process currently initiated by Chega. The PSD stated it will not submit any proposals during this period, while the PS emphasized that such a revision is not a priority for the party.
Major parties reject Chega's constitutional revision bid
Tuesday, 12 May 2026AI summary
Context & Explainers
- Leader: Luís Montenegro (Prime Minister)
- Ideology: Liberal conservatism, pro-Europeanism
- Coalition: Social Democratic Party (PSD) + CDS–People's Party (CDS-PP)
The Democratic Alliance (Aliança Democrática, AD) is a center-right coalition primarily composed of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) with 89 seats and the CDS–People's Party (CDS-PP) with 2 seats. Together, they form the current minority government under Prime Minister Luís Montenegro.
The PSD, despite its name, occupies the center-right of Portugal's political spectrum and has been one of Portugal's two dominant parties since 1974, having formed nine governments including four with absolute majorities. The CDS-PP is a smaller Christian democratic party that has historically been the PSD's coalition partner.
The AD coalition governs without a parliamentary majority, requiring case-by-case support from opposition parties to pass legislation. The coalition has imposed a cordon sanitaire against Chega, refusing formal cooperation with the far-right despite its parliamentary strength, which means it must negotiate with the PS or smaller parties to advance its legislative agenda.
Health cards are private membership or discount schemes sold by companies that offer access to consultations, tests or reduced fees at private clinics; they are not the public health service. The Socialist Party (Partido Socialista or PS) has proposed regulation to increase transparency and protect consumers from misleading marketing or unexpected charges.
4 sources
- PSD will not submit constitutional revision bill now and rejects Chega's proposalspublico.pt ·
- PS will not present a constitutional revision proposal for now, waiting for PSDexpresso.pt ·
- PS says it will not be the party to initiate a constitutional review nowcmjornal.pt ·
- PS blocks constitutional review launched by Chegaobservador.pt ·
