The country won. Why? Because Portuguese voters have clearly said that they are not willing to give more power to the far-right party that ran a galvanized campaign in the result of last May’s legislative elections. The country won because there is a clear understanding that the social democratic party and the socialist party are the political structures with credibility for the exercise of democracy. Yes, in the legislative elections Chega had a victory and, in the meantime, the Portuguese will have understood that it is not a party, a leader, a group of activists to give dignity to the local government. This needs to have a national reading. The government, still in a state of grace, will govern, for better or worse, opinions will certainly be divided, and the socialist party will now have a new breath to oppose, which is always a difficult but highly healthy exercise. Where is Chega? In the same way as until now, let us have no illusions, but with another perspective on its strength. What do I mean by all this? As a citizen, I took a deep breath and thought: we still have time. We can carry out other analyses, confirm other realities, understand the losses of the Bloco de Esquerda and the CDU and also the coalitions made or not made and what these harm or benefit others. But, for the moment, I opt for the hope of seeing the failure of opportunism, populism and a campaign of lies and insults that Ventura’s party gave us. May it be the beginning of the end, that’s what I want. I’m not alone.
The end is not an end point. It’s a fresh start. Portuguese politics, so often exhausted and disbelieving, needs to reconcile itself with the sense of community, with the idea that the country is a common project and not a battlefield. The option for a certain moderation does not erase fears or inequalities, but it reminds us that there is a majority who want to live in a civilized space, where differences are discussed and not shouted at. I’m tired of yelling. Perhaps this result is just an interval – brief, precarious – before new storms. But it is also a reminder that democracy can only be sustained if it is cared for, like an old house that needs steady hands and patience. I continue to believe that politics can be a place of service rather than anger, of construction rather than destruction. This is what I hope in the coming months: that words will regain the weight of truth and that the country will once again find its center of gravity.
Journalist and writer