Portugal is set to hold a snap general election on May 18, 2025, following political turmoil that has left the country likely headed for a hung parliament. Polls suggest that neither the ruling centre-right Democratic Alliance nor the opposition Socialist Party will win an outright majority.
Luis Montenegro
Outgoing Prime Minister Luis Montenegro assumed office after the March 2024 election. However, his tenure was marred by a conflict-of-interest controversy involving a consultancy firm he founded, now managed by his children. The scandal led to a vote of confidence in parliament, which he lost—triggering this early election.
Montenegro, 52, leads the centre-right Social Democratic Party (PSD). He formed a minority government with the conservative CDS-PP, creating the Democratic Alliance, which held 80 of 230 parliamentary seats. Despite pressure, he has firmly rejected alliances with far-right parties.
A native of Porto, Montenegro was raised in Espinho and trained as a lawyer. He became a Member of Parliament at age 29 and led the PSD parliamentary group during the austerity years from 2011 to 2015. He was elected party leader in 2022 after a previous unsuccessful attempt.
Pedro Nuno Santos, 48, rose from the Socialist Party’s left wing to become its leader just before the 2024 election, where the party won 78 seats. An economist by training, he supported Montenegro’s 2025 budget but later joined forces with both left- and right-wing parties to topple the government.
Santos, son of a wealthy businessman from Aveiro, previously served as infrastructure minister under former Prime Minister Antonio Costa, now President of the European Council. He resigned in 2022 amid a controversy over a severance payout at state airline TAP.
**Andre Ventura**
At 42, Andre Ventura is the dynamic and divisive leader of the far-right Chega party. Once aspiring to be a priest or writer, Ventura first gained fame as a television sports commentator before entering politics with the PSD.
Ventura became known nationally for inflammatory rhetoric targeting the Roma community during a local election campaign. In 2019, he broke away from the PSD to form Chega (“Enough”), promoting a populist, anti-establishment agenda. That same year, he became the party’s sole MP. By 2022, Chega had grown into Portugal’s third-largest party, a position it maintains in recent polls.
Ventura’s rapid rise reflects growing voter dissatisfaction with traditional parties.
