The third snap election in as many years is to take place in May, triggered this time by a controversy involving Prime Minister Luis Montenegro.
As leader of his minority government and the
centre-right Social Democratic Party (PSD), Montenegro had worked quite well in
coalition with the centre-left Socialist Party (PS). However, this fragile
partnership collapsed when the PS rejected a confidence vote called by the
prime minister, who faces allegations of a conflict of interests relating to a
family-owned business.
A last-minute effort to avoid the confidence vote
fell apart when the parties failed to agree on the terms for establishing a
parliamentary inquiry into the allegations.
Montenegro, 52, took office last April, but his
government came crashing down on Tuesday evening when the confidence vote
failed. The PS backed by the right-wing Chega party, voted against him, leaving
President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa to set yet another election vote.
The prime minister has said that when he became
leader of the PSD in 2022, he transferred control of a law firm he had created
to his wife and children. Mr. Montenegro has insisted he has committed no crime
and done no wrong.
Last year’s snap election followed the resignation of the PS Prime Minister Antonio Costa amid a corruption scandal within his party. He denied any wrong-going himself and went on to become president of the European Council, a position he still holds.
No comments:
Post a Comment