Chega threatens to block new welfare reform

Tuesday, 23 June 2026AI summary

📍 Lisbon 🏛️ Government 🛂 Immigration #government-policy #chega #social-security #immigration-policy

Chega threatens to block new welfare reform — Photo: RTP Notícias

The Chega party has threatened to block the government's proposed Single Social Benefit (Prestação Social Única or PSU) welfare reform. Party leader André Ventura stated that his support is conditional on the government restricting access to these benefits for immigrants who have not contributed to the national social security system.

Update: Government and Chega align on residency requirements for benefits

The government and the Chega party have moved closer to an agreement by proposing to increase the minimum legal residency requirement for immigrants to access the PSU from one to two years. While this remains below the five-year threshold originally demanded by André Ventura, the convergence marks a significant shift as the government seeks the abstention of Chega or the Socialist Party (Partido Socialista or PS) to pass the reform in Parliament.

Context & Explainers

André Ventura, born January 15, 1983, is a lawyer, academic, and Portugal's most prominent far-right leader. He founded Chega ("Enough") in 2019 after his PSD mayoral campaign attacked the Romani community. Chega surged from 1.3% in 2019 to 22.8% in May 2025, becoming parliament's second-largest party and making Ventura Leader of the Opposition.

His platform emphasizes immigration restrictions, law-and-order policies, constitutional reform, and contains inflammatory anti-Romani rhetoric that has triggered multiple discrimination convictions and investigations. Politically classified as far-right by international media, Ventura cultivates alliances with European far-right figures including Marine Le Pen and Santiago Abascal.

The PSU (Prestação Social Única) is a proposed single social benefit designed to consolidate various existing welfare payments into one streamlined system. The goal of this reform is to simplify access to support, reduce administrative complexity, and improve work incentives for low-income households.

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.