Baghdad-INA
The Portuguese presidency announced at dawn on Thursday the appointment of Luis Montenegro as Prime Minister following the victory of the right-wing Democratic Alliance party to which he belongs in the parliamentary elections held on March 10.
The 51-year-old veteran lawyer and parliamentarian succeeds Antonio Costa, leader of the Socialist Party, which has been in power since 2015.
The country located on the Iberian Peninsula was one of the few countries in Europe led by the left until the beginning of November, when Costa resigned and abandoned his candidacy for another term after his name was mentioned in an investigation into a case of influence abuse.
Monnegro ran in the elections on a platform in which he pledged to promote economic growth by reducing taxes and improving public health services, as well as education, which was affected by strikes by teachers demanding better wages.
The newly elected leader told reporters after a meeting with President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa that he will present his government formation next Wednesday, and it is scheduled to take office on April 2.
The meeting between De Sousa and Montenegro ended the process of naming a new prime minister.
Although the Democratic Alliance Party won the March 10 elections, it won only 79 seats, a number far fewer than it needed to achieve a majority in the 230-seat parliament.
Even with the support of the small, pro-business Liberal Initiative Party, the Democratic Alliance will still need the support of the anti-immigration and anti-establishment Chiga (Enough) Party in order to reach a majority of 116 seats.
Opinion polls conducted before the elections suggested that the entire right (composed of Chiga and the Liberal Initiative) would be in the majority in the next parliament.