Lisbon, June 19, 2026 (Lusa) - In his overarching motion for the next two years, the Social Democrats (PSD) leader pledges “not to form a government with either far-right Chega or the Socialist Party (PS)”, but considers it absurd to talk of “quarantine zones” in parliament.
“The meaning of ‘no means no’ with Chega is the same as ‘no to the central bloc’ with the PS,” says Luís Moção Montenegro in the overarching strategy motion “Work – Making Portugal Greater”, on the basis of which he was re-elected and which will be put to a vote at the 43rd PSD Congress taking place this weekend in Anadia (Aveiro).
The PSD leader warned, however, that “failing to reach a governance agreement cannot and must not mean rejecting dialogue and political negotiation”.
In parliament in particular, he proposes “continuing political dialogue with the opposition parties, and specifically with the two parties which, in opposition, have sufficient representation to make initiatives viable”, whilst criticising both Chega and the Socialists.
“The PSD, leader of the AD coalition with the People's Party (CDS-PP) and a beacon of political moderation and reformism, governs without allowing the country to fall either into the irresponsibility of populism and ‘Chega’-style immaturity, or into the stagnation of political inertia and socialist statism,” he writes, noting that the mandate given by the Portuguese people is to govern without an absolute majority.
However, at the motion’s first public presentation in Sintra (Lisbon), Montenegro acknowledged that he still has an absolute majority “in his sights”, despite advocating serving out the parliamentary term until 2029.
The PSD leader pointed to the various occasions on which Chega and the PS have “joined forces on an ad hoc basis against the parties supporting the Government” as “the most obvious demonstration of the absurdity of talking about ‘cordon sanitaire’ in the Portuguese parliament”.
“In a mature democracy, everyone must respect the will of the sovereign people. The Portuguese are clearly tired of snap elections and want everyone to prove their worth. The government and the opposition must fulfil their roles, and at the end of the parliamentary term, everyone will be judged on their performance,” he urges.
Echoing an election slogan used by Cavaco Silva in his first presidential campaign – “A Greater Portugal” – Montenegro emphasised in the text that, four years after taking the helm of the PSD, the party leads the majority of municipal councils and parish councils, as well as the governments of the Republic and the Autonomous Regions.
“With no elections on the horizon, we are called upon to show reformist courage and responsible ambition (…) We have a duty to put forward bold solutions and seek out possible points of convergence within the country’s political and social landscape,” he said.
In the motion, the PSD leader and Prime Minister insists that revising labour legislation is “a prerequisite for attracting investment and economic growth” and argues that we must take advantage of “political stability” to carry out reforms.
“The PSD’s mission is to lead and forge this path. To do so with a sense of diplomacy, reformist courage and social commitment. We are not content merely to manage the situation, as the Socialist Party governments did. We want to break the deadlock, transform and empower Portugal, preparing the country for the future”, he said.
The motion states that Montenegro’s vision for the country is based on five pillars: investing in everyone’s talent, “leaving no one behind”; reforming the state to remove obstacles to the lives of the Portuguese people and businesses; strengthening cohesion, competitiveness and innovation; ensuring energy autonomy to bolster climate resilience and competitiveness; and increasing Portugal’s presence and influence in Europe and the world.
Luís Montenegro was first elected leader of the PSD on 28 May 2022, defeating Jorge Moreira da Silva; he was re-elected unopposed in September 2024 and, once again as the sole candidate, on 30 May.
In the most recent internal elections, he secured 94.8% of the vote, but was elected PSD leader with the fewest votes since direct elections began (14,467), a record that also saw the highest abstention rate ever recorded (73.2% of registered voters).
SMA/ADB // ADB.
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