The transition to a new right-wing government started off on the wrong foot. The stability promised by Luís Montenegro collapsed within the first 24 hours of the new Assembly of the Republic (AR) taking office.
The failure on the first day of the election of Aguiar Branco as president of the AR made it clear that bipartisanship has ended, to give way to blocking forces that put the country’s interests last.
Montenegro seriously underestimated André Ventura’s desire to set up a media circus and bend the AD to his whims and dictates. He also seriously underestimated the egos of his coalition partners, who did not feel included in the behind-the-scenes conversations.
In fact, it is a case of whether he has seriously underestimated his ability to be prime minister and offer a stable government solution for the next four years.
He was run over by his ineptitude and, at the time of writing this chronicle, a meeting between Luís Montenegro and Pedro Nuno Santos has been announced to unblock the impasse surrounding the Presidency of the Assembly of the Republic.
Squeezed against the wall by the extreme right that wants to suffocate it in a bear hug, Montenegro has so far not shown that it has the necessary strength to face what it has to face. The first day of the legislature does not bode well for governance. Expectations are very low on the domestic front, where it will be essential to build bridges in critical areas such as health, education and housing.
The present global context also does not tolerate weak leadership. The war in Ukraine and Russia could escalate into Europe, and the axis dominated by Russia, China and other powers is undermining democratic governments around the world with disinformation tactics that are sowing division among the population and allowing the rise of demagogues.
The war in the Middle East continues with a genocide taking place in plain sight, in the Palestinian territories, and the Israeli far right without any restraint. Islamic fundamentalist terrorism has never gone away and will continue to spread fear.
The trick regarding good impostors is “fake it till you make it”, but what we saw at the inauguration was right-wing bench leaders immersed in petty power games, while throwing blame in the air, without seeing each other to the mirror.
The right has received a mandate to govern and, therefore, it is its obligation to seek stable governance, which knows how to deal with the reasons for so many protest votes in the last elections, and without giving in to the easy temptation of blaming the left opposition for all the evils.
