Portugal: center-right minority government sworn in

Brussels – After being sworn in at the National Palace in Ajuda, Luís Montenegro is officially the new prime minister of Portugal. The March 10 election results gave Montenegro and his center-right Alliance-Democratic coalition a relative majority of seats in Parliament. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, who met Montenegro in previous days congratulated him on social media for managing to form a government, excluding the far right.

https://twitter.com/vonderleyen/status/1775272366438015333?s=20

Majority parties have only 80 of the 230 seats in the Assembly of the Republic. The abstention of the outgoing Premier António Costa’s Socialist Party was crucial for Montenegro because, without it, he would not have won the confidence vote of the Chamber. The prime minister’s task will not be easy, as his government depends on the votes of outside political formations.

Another difficulty for Luís Montenegro is the lack of experience of the executive members. Only one of the 17 ministers has previously held government positions. The Premier claims this is a breath of fresh air within Portuguese politics. At the same time, however, having new faces heading ministries of a government forced to navigate by sight could prove to be a boomerang.