Portugal's new prime minister

Portugal has just welcomed its new Prime Minister , Mr. Luis Montenegro - head of the Democratic Alliance (AD) party.

New Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro. (Source: EPA)

On the evening of March 20, the Portuguese Presidential Office issued a press release stating that President Rebelo de Sousa appointed Luis Montenegro as Prime Minister, after the AD party won the general election on March 10.

Reuters reported that speaking to the press after his appointment, Mr. Montenegro said he would present a list of ministers to President Rebelo de Sousa on March 28 and the new government would take office on April 2.

Within 10 days, the new government will have to submit to the National Assembly its work program.

In the general election in Portugal on March 10, the AD party won 80 seats out of 230 seats in the National Assembly, followed by the Socialist Party with 78 seats and the Chega party with 50 seats.

Although the AD party does not have enough seats to form a majority government, Mr. Montenegro has repeatedly affirmed that his party is ready to run the government on its own and will not negotiate a coalition with the Chega party.

Mr Montenegro, 51, a seasoned lawyer and lawmaker, succeeds Socialist Antonio Costa, who has been in power since 2015 but failed to win a parliamentary majority.

Last November, Mr Costa announced his resignation amid an investigation into alleged irregularities by his Cabinet in handling lithium and hydrogen projects in Portugal.

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