António Costa’s legacy: The far right in Portugal

The ultranationalist Chega party is thriving by campaigning on issues the president of the European Council failed to address while prime minister. 

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European Council President António Costa. When he became prime minister in 2015, Portugal prided itself on being the only country in Europe with no far-right political presence. | Olivier Hoslet/EPA

FEBRUARY 10, 2026 4:00 AM CET

BY AITOR HERNÁNDEZ-MORALES

The biggest loser of this weekend’s presidential election in Portugal was European Council President António Costa.

Not only was Costa’s former rival in the Socialist Party, António José Seguro, elected the new head of state, the results also cemented the far-right Chega party as the country’s second-largest political force.

Seguro — a moderate, center-left former member of the European Parliament and minister who was ousted as Socialist Party leader by Costa in 2014 — originally said his decision to launch a long-shot run for the presidency was motivated by his “perplexion” with the direction the country had taken during Costa’s eight-year stint as prime minister.

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