It will be Portugal’s third parliamentary election in as many years.
Portugal’s center-right minority government lost a vote of confidence Tuesday evening, setting the country on course for its third parliamentary election in as many years.
The confidence vote was requested by Social Democrat Prime Minister Luís Montenegro following two failed censure motions against his government. The PM, who took office less than a year ago, has been embroiled in a conflict-of-interest scandal involving a data protection firm owned by his family.
“I did not give in to any personal interest in the face of public interest,” Montenegro said in a Tuesday address to the parliament before the vote.
He called on MPs to vote “for stability” over partisan concerns.
Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa is expected to dissolve the country’s parliament as soon as this evening and call a snap election that will likely be held in mid-May.
The prime minister has been under fire since the Portuguese media began reporting on Spinumviva, a consultancy Montenegro founded in 2021 before becoming active in politics.
Montenegro insists he has no role in the management of the firm, which is currently owned by his wife and sons. Opposition parties, meanwhile, have accused him of benefiting from the company, which has contracts with businesses that have received government concessions.
In order to “avoid the degradation of institutions and the loss of political stability” amid the accusations of wrongdoing, Montenegro called for the vote of confidence to confirm his minority government still enjoyed the support of Portugal’s parliament. The negative votes from both the opposition Socialist Party and the far-right Chega group made his defeat inevitable.
Portugal held its last general election in March 2024 following the resignation of Socialist Prime Minister António Costa, who stepped down after authorities launched an influence-peddling investigation focused on several members of his administration. Costa is now the president of the European Council.
