Why is Portugal facing its third snap election in three years?!
Portugal is once again plunged into political crisis. Prime Minister Luís Montenegro, who leads the Democratic Alliance (AD), is currently embroiled in a scandal over an alleged conflict of interest involving his family's business.
Montenegro, who denies the charges, called a confidence motion last week, saying he wanted to "end the atmosphere of perpetual insinuations and intrigues."
However, his center-right government will lose Tuesday's confidence vote, after the other two main parties, the Socialist Party (SP) and the far-right Chega party, said they would not support it.
If this happens, the country will have its third snap election since 2022, with President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa saying a vote could be held in mid-May.
Montenegro narrowly won the elections last March, just ahead of the SP, which has only two seats less than the AD platform in parliament.
The charges against Montenegro relate to the data protection company Spinumviva, which he founded in 2021.
The prime minister was the firm's managing partner and largest shareholder, but he left a month after being elected president of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) in 2022. Ownership was transferred to his wife and two children.
The firm recently made headlines after it emerged that it had been receiving 4,500 euros a month from a casino group that has a government gambling concession.
Montenegro's critics also claim that Spinumviva, whose main activity is consultancy but which has other interests, could benefit from a new land law. The prime minister denies this accusation.
Meanwhile, the General Prosecutor's Office has confirmed that it is reviewing an anonymous complaint against Montenegro and the SP has called for a parliamentary investigation into the allegations.
The decision to dissolve the Assembly of the Republic and call new elections rests with President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa. Last week, he said he wanted to "wait for the debate and vote on the motion of confidence."
But he noted that if the government falls, the "earliest possible date" for the country to go to elections is May 11. Tuesday's confidence motion comes a year and a day after the country's last election.
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