The political party Chega (Chega) has requested a Public Prosecutor's inquiry and parliamentary hearings regarding the government's purchase of three Italian frigates. The party is calling for Minister of National Defence Nuno Melo and representatives from the Portuguese company NT Group to testify, citing concerns over a 25% price difference and potential corruption.
Chega demands inquiry into Italian frigate acquisition deal

Context & Explainers

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.
Nuno Melo is the president of CDS-PP (Centro Democrático e Social – Partido Popular), a Christian democratic party in Portugal. In the story he linked Chega's position to socialism, compared André Ventura to Donald Trump, and urged party members to vote 'in conscience' in the presidential runoff on the 8th, a stance that could affect centre‑right voters.
5 sources
- Chega requests parliamentary hearing for Nuno Melo and NT Group regarding frigate purchasecmjornal.pt ·
- Frigates: Chega summons Melo and NTG company to Parliament and requests a Public Prosecutor's inquirypublico.pt ·
- Frigate controversy: Chega requests parliamentary hearing for Nuno Melo and NT Grouprtp.pt ·
- Frigate case: Chega requests Public Prosecutor inquiry and summons Nuno Melo and NTG company to Parliamentdn.pt ·
- Chega requests hearing for Nuno Melo and company regarding frigatesobservador.pt ·





