This Week in Politics

Portugal's General Election

Portugal has held a general election with the Democratic Alliance (AD), lead by Luís Montenegro, securing the largest vote share. The ruling Socialist Party (PS) embroiled by allegations of a corruption scandal was forced to call the election prematurely and saw a major collapse of support. Far-right Chega, "Enough" in Portuguese, made major gains, more then doubling their total support. Furthermore, parties such as Liberal Initiative and the Left Bloc remained the same. Livre, affiliated with the European Greens, gained 3 seats since last elections mere 1. The PCP lost 2 reaching a total of 4 seats this election. PAN won a single seats, the same as in 2022. The Portuguese Parliament, Assembly of the Republic, requires 116 seats to have a majority. The Democratic Alliance won 79, far from a majority. Chega will likely position itself as a vital part of any AD government due to there being little alternative for right-wing parties. Liberal Initiative's 8 seats do not constitute close to a majority with AD. The Socialist Party cannot form a majority government unless the Democratic Alliance or Chega support them, which is very unlikely. Moreover, PS does not have any major leftist allies to turn too, the largest being the Left Bloc with 5 seats and a few other slightly smaller parties. Not only would this be tuff to coordinate it would not garner a majority and therefore the Socialist Party seems to be out of the picture. However, the Democratic Alliance has not received an easy task in working with Chega. Some analysts say that there will be an election already by next year due to the challenging circumstances.

Kyrsten Sinema to Leave

Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema, a recent addition to the independent club, has announced her intention to not seek re-election in November. Great news for Democrats worried about her potential of stealing their votes. Ms Sinema spent months trailing the Democrats and Republicans in the polls alongside being out funded in quarterly fundraising. Her campaigned budget stood at an impressive $10.6 million at the end of last year. The political reality of the United States does not allow for independents, or at least not many and especially not new ones. This reality of a two party system is what doomed the Senator from the start. Kyrsten Sinema in many ways followed in John McCain's path, infuriating their own parties, however, in so doing also appealing to moderates in Arizona. This did not work for Ms Sinema because to differ from Mr McCain she is not a party member and therefore does not receive the resources needed to win.

Lee Anderson Defects

Former Conservative MP Lee Anderson has defected to Reform UK, formerly the Brexit Party founded by Nigel Farage. He becomes the first Tory to defect to Reform. The defection is huge win for Reform leader Richard Tice and a devastating blow for Conservative prime minister Rishi Sunak. The defection follows comments Mr Anderson made that infuriated many within his own party. Richard Tice has for months tried to convert MPs to no avail. Moreover, Mr Anderson may be accepting the political circumstances in which Reform is now polling at half the size of the Tories. The defection is without a doubt due to the Conservative reaction to Mr Anderson's comments, however, possibly also a gambit to remain a MP after the next general election.