The Portuguese Party System

Abstract

Abstract This chapter analyses changes to the Portuguese party system, with a special focus on the last three post-eurozone crisis bailout elections, held in 2015, 2019, and 2022. It begins with a brief characterization of the party system as well as the main features that may have contributed to its relative stability, including the comparatively high levels of abstention and institutional features. The parties’ main organizational features are presented, namely a formal mass organization, a large financial dependence on the state, and leader-centric logics. While the number of effective parties has barely changed in the period, in part due to an unexpected absolute majority win for the Socialists in 2022, some change did occur. For the first time since democratization, the Socialist Party formed a coalition of parliamentary incidence with parties to its left, the Communists and the Left Block, which lasted from 2015 to 2022. In addition, from 2019 onwards the fragmentation of the right has taken hold, which includes the entry to parliament of an extreme-right party, Chega. The latter has quickly become the third-largest party in parliament. Thus, in the post-eurozone crisis period, the Portuguese party system is witnessing a slow transformation which approximates it to other EU party systems.