Former PSD Minister Ângelo Correia believes that the only way to combat the Chega party is to bring it into the “orbit of power” and normalize it, although he acknowledges it might be “too late.”
“They are anti-establishment. So, let them get into power and see how they might change or face the consequences of being in power. Normalizing Chega is how you combat it. Time does not offer positive expectations. Governing well in Portugal today doesn’t always mean pleasing the Portuguese; sometimes it doesn’t solve problems. Sometimes you need to please by explaining why, providing better salaries, life status, and social conditions, but I think it’s late. It should have been done a year ago,” stated Ângelo Correia in an interview with SIC Notícias.
The social democrat acknowledges that the recent elections gave the AD coalition a “better result than before,” but it remains “insufficient” for the coalition to become a “political powerhouse with greater capacity.”
“That depends on the majority it doesn’t have and will be forced to negotiate. The prime minister’s speech on victory day wasn’t quite this, but we’re all going to be united; we all have an obligation, and we have even more because we’re legitimized by the people, and others should understand this reality. If the prime minister thinks political parties will, purely out of patriotism, abandon their electoral contract with the people, he is mistaken. Can negotiations occur? Some yes, others no,” added the former minister.
AD won the legislative elections on Sunday, securing 89 seats, while PS and Chega tied with 58 seats each in the parliament.
Liberal Initiative remains the fourth political force, increasing its representation by one to nine deputies compared to 2024, and Livre secures fifth place, rising from four to six elected members. The CDU lost one seat, ending with three parliamentarians, while the Left Bloc is reduced to one representative, similar to PAN, which maintained a single deputy. JPP from Madeira managed to elect one deputy.
These results do not yet include votes from residents abroad, whose participation and choices will be revealed on May 28th.
