Portugal

[phkrause]

Portugal PM Steps Down

Portugal's Socialist Prime Minister António Costa announced his resignation after eight years yesterday amid a broad corruption probe by the national police into several high-ranking officials. The country's president will meet with party leaders and his advisers today and tomorrow to decide whether to dissolve parliament or appoint a replacement from the ruling Socialist party.   His resignation followed police raids of reportedly 37 locations Tuesday, including the office of Costa's chief of staff, Vitor Escaria, two government ministries, and several residences. The probe reportedly stems from allegations Costa's administration conducted illicit multibillion-dollar deals over the country's sprawling lithium mine industry—a key element in batteries—as well as a planned hydrogen plant and several data centers in the country's south. Costa denied all wrongdoing.   The 62-year-old won an outright majority of seats in parliament last year, and was often touted as a likely candidate to succeed Charles Michel as the next European Council president.

[phkrause]

Portugal is in suspense after an election produces no clear winner and a surging populist party

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Portugal’s political future is hanging in the balance after a general election Sunday, with two moderate mainstream parties closely contesting the race and set to wait weeks for a decision on the winner after an unprecedented surge in support for a populist party that finished third.

https://apnews.com/article/portugal-election-populist-party-europe-corruption-hardship-2507301c18e4bbe3c8a84152bef07fc4?

[phkrause]

Portugal’s election brings another minority government and a far-right rise

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Portugal’s president convened the country’s political parties for consultations Monday, after a general election delivered another minority government as well as an unprecedented showing by populist party Chega (Enough) that added momentum to Europe’s shift to the far-right.

https://apnews.com/article/portugal-election-government-chega-cd6fa30148ef98fbf6b9af35884836a0?

[phkrause]

Famed streetcar in Lisbon, Portugal, derails and crashes, killing 17 people The death toll in the crash of a famous Lisbon streetcar popular with tourists rose to 17 on Thursday after two of the 23 injured people died, an emergency services official said. Read more.

What to know: The dead were all adults, Margarida Castro Martins, head of Lisbon’s Civil Protection Agency, told reporters. Portugal observed a national day of mourning Thursday after the capital’s worst disaster in recent history.   Officials declined to speculate on whether a faulty brake or a snapped cable may have caused the derailment. Lisbon’s City Council halted operations of three other famous funicular streetcars in the city while immediate inspections were carried out.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ WATCH: AP Explains: Famed streetcar in Lisbon derails and crashes

[phkrause]

Storm-battered Portugal heads to polls as rivals unite to keep out far right

Portuguese voters will return to the polls on Sunday for the final round of a presidential election that has been marked by a push to keep the far-right candidate at bay and overshadowed by deadly storms that have lashed the country in recent days.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/feb/07/portugal-polls-antonio-jose-seguro-rivals-unite-to-keep-out-far-right?

[phkrause]

Moderate candidate wins emphatically over a populist in Portugal’s presidential runoff

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Center-left Socialist candidate António José Seguro recorded a thumping victory over hard-right populist André Ventura in Portugal’s runoff presidential election Sunday, according to official results with 99% of votes counted.

https://apnews.com/article/portugal-presidential-election-populist-moderate-5a63b7df570c98f53a9ad29b402bae7c?