The minority right-wing government in Portugal fell after failing to secure enough votes in a confidence vote in Parliament due to corruption allegations against Prime Minister Luis Montenegro. This marks the second time a government has fallen in a confidence vote since the end of the dictatorship era and the return of democracy in 1974, with the first instance occurring 48 years ago in 1977. The reason behind the downfall of the minority right-wing government, which had not yet completed its first year, was the corruption allegations surrounding Prime Minister Montenegro in connection with “Spinumviva,” a family company he established and transferred shares to his wife and two children after becoming active in politics. Despite two motions of censure, the first on February 21 by the far-right Chega party and the second on March 4 by the Communist Party of Portugal (PCP), being rejected in Parliament, Prime Minister Montenegro sought a vote of confidence to overcome the political crisis that the minority government was facing. In the vote held today in the 230-seat Parliament, the government fell after receiving 142 “no” votes and 88 “yes” votes. Apart from the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the Christian Democrats in the minority government, only the opposition Liberal Initiative (IL) supported the vote of confidence, while the Socialist Party (PS) in the opposition, along with other opposition parties such as the Communists, United Left, Free, People-Animals-Nature, and the far-right Chega party that provided external support during the formation of the minority government, voted against it. Efforts to withdraw the confidence vote by Prime Minister Montenegro and opposition leader Pedro Nuno Santos establishing a Parliamentary Inquiry Commission to investigate the allegations against Montenegro for a period of 15 days were rejected. Speaking during the session in Parliament, Prime Minister Montenegro accused the opposition PS of disrupting “economic stability,” stating that the Portuguese did not want a new early election. Montenegro declared once again that he would be the prime ministerial candidate for his party. PS leader Santos, on the other hand, insisted that the withdrawal of the confidence vote should be conditioned on the establishment of a Parliamentary Inquiry Commission to investigate the allegations against Prime Minister Montenegro, claiming that Montenegro was the sole responsible party who did not dispel doubts. PS argued for a 90-day inquiry commission, as a 15-day commission as requested by the government was deemed “not serious.” Due to the government’s fall, the Portuguese will have to go to the polls for the third time in the last three years. It is expected that the Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa will make an early election decision on May 11 or 18. Some polls published in the Portuguese media today indicated that the crisis the government faced increased support for the Socialist Party in the opposition and would make it the winner in a possible election. The Minority Government Did Not Reach One Year – Currently serving as President of the European Council, Antonio Costa, who had served as Prime Minister in Portugal since November 2015 and had been re-elected in the early election on January 30, 2022, had resigned from the prime ministerial post in November 2023 following being named as a suspect in a corruption investigation and another early general election was held on March 10, 2024. Montenegro formed a minority government on April 2, 2024, after the election held nearly 11 months ago, having an alliance with 80 MPs from the Social Democratic Party (78) and the Christian Democrats (2) called the Democratic Alliance (AD). Allegations Against Montenegro – According to reports in the Portuguese media, Montenegro, who transferred his shares to his wife and two children in Spinumviva after becoming the PSD president in 2022, had business with Solverde, which holds concessions for many hotels and casinos in the country. It is claimed that Montenegro, who is also a lawyer, was the legal representative of Solverde during important negotiations on casino concessions with the state from 2018 to 2022. Following the news, Solverde announced on March 4 that it had terminated its contract with Spinumviva to “protect the company’s name.”