During Portugal’s recent election campaign, far-right Chega leader Andre Ventura argued that the two centrist parties that have ruled the nation for half a century have failed to increase living standards, control immigration and end systemic corruption.

Ventura didn’t win the May 18 election but he can no longer be ignored either. His party surged to second place, upending the decades-long dominance of the two groups that have governed Portugal since the end of its dictatorship.

Final results released Wednesday night confirmed Chega overtook the Socialists for the runner-up spot, clinching 60 seats in Portugal’s 230-member parliament.

Chega’s surge mirrors that of other far-right forces across Europe like the Alternative for Germany, which also came second in elections earlier this year, or groups in the Netherlands and Austria that have won the largest share of the vote in recent years.

The results mark a remarkable ascent for a party that was founded only six years ago. But Ventura isn’t satisfied.

“We’re almost, almost, almost there,” he said after the election last week. “I won’t stop until I’m prime minister of Portugal.”

The center-right coalition that ultimately won the election, led by Prime Minister Luis Montenegro, has ruled out working with Chega. Still, for the first time, the prospect of the far right coming into government in Portugal is no longer a remote scenario, potentially threatening the country’s long tradition of moderate policies at home and abroad.

The ruling coalition doesn’t have a strategy of forming alliances in government or in parliament with either Chega or the Socialists, Minister of the Presidency Antonio Leitao Amaro said in an interview on Tuesday. The administration will seek to get the necessary backing from the different parties in parliament depending on each measure, according to the minister.

“Chega is now a political force that is too big to be ignored,” said Miguel Morgado, a political analyst and former lawmaker for the ruling PSD party. “People are just tired of the same two parties.”

That’s a sentiment Chega sought to capitalize on in repeat snap elections — three in as many years — amid growing public frustration with successive governments that have stumbled over allegations of corruption or conflicts of interest. A Eurobarometer survey in 2024 found that 96% of Portuguese citizens consider corruption to be widespread.

The far-right group’s popularity was also boosted by its tough anti-immigrant stance, which is resonating more with voters. Portugal’s foreign population rose to a record 1.6 million residents, or about 15% of the country’s population, almost tripling since 2019, according to Portugal’s Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum.

“It’s very fast growth,” Minister of the Presidency Antonio Leitao Amaro said in an interview on Tuesday about the increase in immigration. “Public services weren’t prepared.”

The government last year tightened immigration rules by requiring a work visa from most foreigners wishing to live in the country.

“Immigration has become such a big political issue in Portugal that it has given a strong social root to Chega,” said Morgado, the political analyst.

Chega has also called for lower income taxes and harsher sentences for crimes of corruption.

“Enough”

Yet for all its populist promises, most of Chega’s appeal stems from Ventura himself.

The 42-year-old firebrand first appeared on the political scene as a candidate for the center-right in regional elections in Loures, in the outskirts of Lisbon. During that campaign, he drew attention targeting the Roma community.

Ventura lost that election, but made a name for himself with incendiary comments on immigration policy and alleged government corruption. By 2019, he had enough fans of his own and disagreements with the PSD to form Chega, which means “Enough.”

Born in Algueirao, just outside Lisbon, Ventura initially wanted to be a priest, but left the seminary early. He studied law, then worked for the tax authorities and, more recently, was a football commentator on television.

His TV experience may have helped his charismatic performance in parliament and on the campaign trail. Ventura’s tone is often confrontational, something he says is meant to channel the anger that Portuguese people feel about the system.

His comments, described as xenophobic or outright racist by his political opponents, have drawn in new voters — and some haters too. Unlike other senior politicians, Ventura is always surrounded by a group of bodyguards whenever he’s in public.

Ventura’s appeal has managed to largely shield his party, which has had to deal with its fair share of controversies. Earlier this year, one of Chega’s lawmakers was expelled from the group after being accused of stealing suitcases at several airports while another member was caught driving under the influence of alcohol and later apologized on television.

The incidents didn’t seem to curtail Ventura’s and Chega’s ascent and the party beat expectations with its latest electoral performance. Instead, Ventura doubled down on his anti-immigration and law-and-order rhetoric.

Ventura, who has consistently linked immigration to crime, in December praised a police raid in an immigrant neighborhood in Lisbon in which dozens of individuals were forced to stand against the wall while being searched.

While the police operation triggered demonstrations in the capital city against the excessive use of force by authorities on immigrants, Ventura defended the raid.

“Whoever is illegal has to leave,” Ventura told reporters at the Martim Moniz neighborhood in Lisbon where the raid took place. “I’m putting the Portuguese in first place.”

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