Portugal is no longer immune to far-right ideas

FROM OUR JUNIOR TEAM /

The Portuguese presidential elections of January 2021 were marked by a breakthrough of the radical right in the Portuguese political landscape. This is an opportunity for us to revisit a trend that was formulated in our January 2020 monthly bulletin. These elections do not fundamentally reshuffle the political deck, but they do allow us to state that Portugal can no longer be considered immune to far-right discourse.

Here is what the GEAB wrote in January 2020:

 “Portuguese Left: Like in Latin America

Portugal has been led for some years by a centre-left coalition government that has achieved great economic and managerial success. Another characteristic of the Portuguese is that they are totally resistant to far-right ideas. But the country’s intrinsic link with Bolsonaro’s Brazil and the presence on its border of a resolute Iberian-integrationist far-right (Vox, see previous point) suggest that special efforts could be made to ‘help’ the quasi-inexistent PNR (Portuguese far-right party) – unless a new party emerges (why not a vox.pt?). We anticipate that the current government, which has so far enjoyed the peace reserved for discreet countries, may well have been “spotted” and run into trouble in 2020. “