Corruption scandals cast a shadow over Portugal’s early general election

25/2/2024 15:25

        The official two-week campaign period before Portugal's early general election began on Sunday, with the country's two moderate mainstream parties once again expected to collect the most votes but with the expected rise of a populist party potentially adding momentum to Europe's drift to the right.
        
        The center-left Socialist Party and center-right Social Democratic Party have alternated in power for decades. But they are unsure of how much support they might need from smaller rival parties for the parliamentary votes needed to form a government after the March 10 vote.
        
        Corruption scandals have cast a shadow over the ballot. They have also fed public disenchantment with the country's political class as Portugal prepares to celebrate 50 years of democracy, following the Carnation Revolution that toppled a rightist dictatorship on April 25, 1974.
        
        The election is being held after a Socialist government collapsed last November following a corruption investigation. That case brought a police search of Prime Minister Antonio Costa's official residence and the arrest of his chief of staff. Costa hasn't been accused of any crime.