Portugal's Chega Party Hit by Scandal Amid Allegations
By Andrei Khalip
LISBON (Reuters) - Three senior members of Portugal's far-right Chega party have in the past two weeks faced accusations of committing a crime, threatening the "law-and-order" image that helped Chega become the third-largest force in parliament.
Chega leader Andre Ventura has distanced himself from all three and pledged zero tolerance for crime in a party whose slogan is "Clean Up Portugal".
But he has also acknowledged: "It's not a good moment for the party."
Chega has been the third-largest force in the NATO and European Union member state's parliament since 2022 and quadrupled its representation in the assembly in an election last March, when it won 50 of the 230 seats.
Its inability to convert its strength into a kingmaker role has dampened its authority, and an opinion survey released on Wednesday showed 42% of respondents' assessments of Ventura had changed for the worst over the past month although the full impact of the criminal accusations remains to be seen.
Prosecutors last month named lawmaker Miguel Arruda as a suspect in a case involving an alleged theft of suitcases from the luggage belt at Lisbon airport.
Arruda denies wrongdoing, saying CCTV footage purportedly showing him taking a suitcase could have been generated by artificial intelligence, but has left Chega to serve as an independent member of parliament until his immunity is lifted.
Last Sunday, Jose Paulo Sousa, Chega's regional legislative assembly deputy in the Azores, was caught drunk-driving with twice the amount of alcohol in his blood that is considered a criminal offence.
He has since issued an apology via Facebook, saying he was ashamed and ready to face the consequences.
Prosecutors have also charged Nuno Pardal Ribeiro, Chega's vice-president for the Lisbon district, with knowingly paying for oral sex with an underage male who was 15 at the time - a crime punishable with up to five years in prison.
The prosecutors did not name him in a statement on Thursday outlining the charges but Pardal Ribeiro acknowledged to the Expresso and Publico newspapers that the statement referred to him and denied having known the teen was under 18 at the time of their 2023 encounter.
Reuters was unable to reach Pardal Ribeiro, who publicly supported a proposal by Chega to chemically castrate paedophiles, for comment.
"A leader does not choose what happens, but chooses how to react to what has (happened)," Ventura told reporters on Thursday.
"If it were my father, brother, anyone from my family or friends who committed crimes against minors, I would defend chemical castration for the abusers."
(Reporting by Andrei Khalip, Editing by Timothy Heritage)
