The world is not cohesive, nor are the issues and policies that drive it. Whether discussing politics or culture and arts, painting with a broad brush and the use of sensationalism spurs misunderstandings and even missed opportunities. Similarly, this idea holds true when looking at the far-right party of Chega!, or Enough!, which has recently grown its influence in Portugal, disturbing the old two-party system. While self-identifying as a populist, right-wing party, they do diverge from other right-wing parties like Geert Wilder’s PVV and Germany’s AfD on their views around the world and in the European Union.

When many pundits talk about the rise of right-wing parties in Europe, they tend to reduce them all to anti-globalist and Eurosceptic movements, reacting to the people’s discontent with the current neo-liberal status quo. Consequently, the anger from these voters predominantly falls on the European Union, which conservatives call for its abolition and recommend that each nation celebrate its sovereignty in order to chase their own ambitions. While a fierce debate over whether abolishing the European Union would benefit nations roars across Europe, Eurosceptic parties are on the rise in every country across Europe.

While Chega broadly follows the same populist playbook, there are some ideas on which they fundamentally disagree. Rather than advocating for the full abolition of the European Union, Chega and its supporters would prefer to see reforms in the European Union’s economic policy. In their eyes, the EU’s current monetary system has spurred Portugal’s economic stagnation since the 2008 global recession. Consequently, they view that these reforms would grant Portugal more autonomy over immigration, economic policy, and social issues. By not being economically dependent on the European Economic Community, Ventura believes that Portugal would be able to chase its own ambitions more efficiently.

To summarize its policy perfectly, as Chega’s chair, Andre Ventura once said, “The best way to defend Europe is not to dismantle the European Union, but we cannot let the EU destroy the identity of all countries and define things like immigration, our fiscal policy, our economic policy. What we can eat, and what we can not.” (Euronews).  

 In 2019, Chega was founded following a political scandal, sparked by offensive messaging when delivering the idea of reforming the EU. Andre Ventura was running for mayor in the town of Loures, just outside of the capital, he made derogatory comments regarding the Romani people in Portugal. This sparked controversy from Fabian Figuierdo, of the Left Bloc, and the withdrawal from the endorsement of CDS, the small Christian Democratic Party. Andre Ventura, who at the time was a member of the center-right ruling PSD party, consequently lost the endorsement of his party leaving him and his supporters to create Chega.

To fully understand Chega's policy goals, it is critical to revisit the European Union and its role. First founded as the European Coal and Steel Commission in 1951, then expanding as the European Economic Community in 1957, to finally forming as the modern European Union in 1992, shared economic policy has always been the cornerstone holding this bloc together. While it has since expanded its efforts to include areas like immigration and national security, economic cooperation still remains at the heart of its efforts. While Chega has proclaimed reform of the European Union’s powers to be its stated goal thus far, understanding the impact of those changes informs the true meaning of these efforts.

In conclusion, all right wing parties are not built the same. Rather, it is a combination of domestic factors that dictate a country’s foreign policy. As the case of Chega presents, there are some important nuances across parties, even those that collaborate together and express similar beliefs. Fundamentally, messaging matters and parties that increase their popularity carefully define their vision to meet voter’s desires. In a world that seems more and more polarized, it is important to realize that we all have some common issues, and the sooner we tackle those, the easier it becomes to solve the ones in the future.

By: Adelino Vellis, WACNH Intern