Portugal elections: André Ventura, ex-football pundit, shakes up vote - BBC News

André Ventura made his name as a sports pundit. Now, his far-right Chega party is third in the polls.

3 days agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, EPAImage caption, André Ventura (centre) and his far-right Chega party are now polling at 16% ahead of Sunday's legislative electionsBy Alison RobertsBBC News, LisbonFriday marks the last day of campaigning for Portugal's legislative elections this Sunday.

The spotlight is on the far-right Chega (Enough) party and the unprecedented role it could play in national politics, even if it remains just the third-largest force in parliament.

Its leader, André Ventura, a former councillor for the centre-right Social Democratic Party (PSD) and one-time trainee priest who made his name on national television commenting on football, has made corruption and record immigration the focus of viral social media campaigns.

First elected to parliament in 2019, he has proved an agile performer whose drastic policy shifts have done more to broaden Chega's base than undermine its credibility.

In criminal justice, where he once demanded chemical castration for rapists, he now poses as a champion of police officers demonstrating for better pay; in education and health, where Chega called for the state to bow out almost entirely, he now proposes more modest reforms, while promising higher pensions.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-68505522

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