Portugal election on a knife edge as far-right support soars
Portugal’s political future rests on a knife edge after the country’s centre-left and centre-right parties ended up neck and neck in a parliamentary election.
The centre-right Social Democrat-led Democratic Alliance won 79 seats in the 230-seat National Assembly, while the centre-left Socialist Party, which has been in power for the last eight years, got 77 seats.
All votes in Portugal have been counted but the deciding votes will come from voters abroad, who will decide how the last four parliamentary seats are distributed. The count could take more than two weeks.
The far-right Chega (Enough) party saw an unprecedented surge in votes to come third with 48 seats, in a further example of a drift to the right in many of the European Union’s democracies.
The election saw turnout rise to 66%, the highest in Portugal for years.
The Social Democrats and Socialists have alternated in power for years, but this is the first time they have come up against such a strong challenge from the hard right.
Chega’s support could make the party, which is just five years old, a kingmaker. The Social Democrats may only be able to form a functioning government with some sort of far-right support.
Chega leader Andre Ventura. Pic: AP
“One thing is for sure tonight, the two-party system in Portugal is finished,” said Chega leader Andre Ventura, adding that his party “stands ready to be part of a government”.
But Social Democrat leader Luis Montenegro, who would likely become prime minister if his alliance wins, said he would keep his campaign promise to shut out Chega and refuse to negotiate power-sharing with the populists.
He said he expected to form a government on his own.
Democratic Alliance leader Luis Montenegro. Pic: AP
Mr Ventura, a former law professor and television football pundit, has said he is prepared to drop some of his party’s most controversial proposals – such as chemical castration for some sex offenders and the introduction of life prison sentences – if it allows his party to be included in a possible governing alliance with other right-of-centre parties.
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Socialist Party leader Pedro Nuno Santos. Pic: AP
Meanwhile, Socialist leader Pedro Nuno Santos is promising change with what he vaguely calls “a fresh boost”.
The early election was triggered by corruption scandals after former Socialist leader Antonio Costa resigned as prime minister in November after eight years amid a corruption investigation involving his chief of staff, although Mr Costa himself has not been accused of any crime.
Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s former “thug” and “pit bull”, has been accused of lying about a phone call he says he made to the former US president about payments to ex porn star Stormy Daniels.
Cohen, a lawyer who worked for the Trump Organisation from 2006 to 2017, has been giving evidence in the case about hush money payments to Ms Daniels – in an attempt to cover up an alleged sexual encounter in 2006.
Trump’s lawyer, Todd Blanche, called into question an important detail – a phone call made by Cohen to Trump’s assistant, Keith Schiller, on 24 October 2016.
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Cohen, 57, has maintained that during that call he spoke to Trump (who was either given the phone by Mr Schiller or placed on loudspeaker – we don’t know which) and told him he had paid Ms Daniels $130,000 in hush money on his behalf.
But Mr Blanche called this into doubt – showing the jury a number of interactions suggesting Cohen was in contact with Mr Schiller about a different issue at the same time, namely that he was receiving harassing phone calls and texts from a 14-year-old child.
“That was a lie – you did not talk to President Trump on that night, you talked to Keith Schiller about what we just went through,” Mr Blanche said.
Cohen said that, based on his records, he believes he spoke to Trump about the Stormy Daniels matter.
“We are not asking for your belief,” Mr Blanche said. “This jury does not want to hear what you think happened.”
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Donald Trump in court on Thursday. Pic: Reuters
That exchange was part of several hours of questioning which apparently sought to paint a picture of Cohen as someone who is eager to see his former boss behind bars.
Mr Blanche played jurors audio clips of Cohen saying the case “fills me with delight” and that imagining Trump and his family in prison made him feel “giddy with hope and laughter”.
“Does the outcome of this trial affect you personally?” Mr Blanche asked.
“Yes,” Cohen replied. He is due to return to the witness stand on Monday.
Michael Cohen (right) was Donald Trump’s fixer. Pic: AP
Cohen worked as the former president’s fixer. He once described himself as Trump’s “spokesman, thug, pit bull and lawless lawyer”.
He once said he would take a bullet for his boss and admitted at the end of questioning on Tuesday that he “violated my moral compass” while working for Trump.
Hush money payouts are not illegal, but Trump is accused of falsifying business records to hide it – a claim he denies.
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