Following his party’s close victory in legislative elections, center-right leader Luis Montenegro was named prime minister of Portugal on Wednesday night. However, he will need to establish a coalition government and contend with the increasing extreme right.
The 51-year-old attorney and seasoned lawmaker takes over for Antonio Costa of the Socialist Party, who has held the position since 2015.
His Democratic Alliance (AD) ran on a platform of tax cuts to spur economic growth and to address the shortcomings of public health and education, which have been impacted by teacher and school worker strikes over wages.
Following a meeting with President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the recently elected leader of Montenegro informed reporters that his new administration will be presented the following Wednesday and would take office on April 2.
The process of selecting a new prime minister came to an end with their meeting.
In the elections held on March 10, Montenegro’s AD defeated the Socialist Party (PS), although they only secured 79 seats, falling well short of a majority in the 230-seat parliament.
To obtain a majority of 116 seats in the assembly, the AD would still require the support of the anti-immigration party Chega, despite having the endorsement of the tiny, pro-business Liberal Initiative (IL) party.
