The origin of the instability surrounds a company that the family of prime minister Luís Montenegro owns which may result in a conflict of interest. Spinumviva is a company with activity in the real estate market, as well as consultancy for business, among others.

The company was founded in 2021, being its headquarters located in the house of Luís Montenegro’s house, in Espinho. Before being elected as president of PSD, the current prime minister held 62,5% of the company. After becoming the leader of PSD, his quota was distributed between his wife and his two sons.

Being married to the major shareholder of the company would mean that the prime minister was still receiving revenues, which may result in a conflict of interest, especially at a time when a law regarding housing was being discussed.

Knowing the facts, which were released by the press, CHEGA decided to present to the Government a Moção de Censura, trying to cease the actual Government and leading Portugal to new elections. CHEGA did not see their proposal approved by the other parties, on 21 February 2025.

However, new information kept coming, like the clients of the Luís Montenegro family company. According to the press, the hotel and casino company Solverde was paying Spinumviva for more than four thousand years monthly. The discovery corroborated the idea that the Parliament was already sharing: the prime minister is not sharing all the details.

More recently, Correio da Manhã (CM) stated that the Luis Montenegro sons bought, in December 2023, a flat that cost 300.000€. In 2024, the prime minister and his wife bought a flat costing 400.000€. For any of these purchases, a loan was required from a bank. It is concluded that the prime minister's family promptly paid for both apartments. CM has also mentioned that Luís Montenegro requested a loan of 200.000€ in Millennium BCP, however, there is no explanation for the request for the money.

On 5 March, another Moção de Censura was presented in the Parliament by PCP. In a debate where every party accused the prime minister of a lack of transparency. On the same day, the Government presented a Moção de Confiança, which was not voted yet.

During the debate, Rui Tavares, from Livre (L), confronted the prime minister saying that he was not present, as most of the world leaders, at the Kyiv Summit, where the strategy for peace would be discussed. Rui Tavares highlighted the fact that Luís Montenegro was playing golf with one of his friends, who is part of the Solverde group. The prime minister stated that he was present online, but Rui Tavares quoted the minutes of the summit revealing that “the only Montenegro present in the summit, was the country Montenegro.”

The Partido Socialista (PS) accused the prime minister of not answering all the questions that were asked. As well as other parties expressed the same feeling. In the same debate, Luís Montenegro said that “sometimes [he] has more to do than answering questions.”

What is a Moção de Censura?

Translated to English, a motion of censure happens when a quarter of the deputies in functions, or a parliament group wants to dissolute the actual Government, for not having the right conditions to end the mandate. For a Moção de Censura to be approved it is required to have the majority of the votes in the Parliament. If approved the Government will end his mandate and new elections must happen.

As mentioned before, CHEGA and PCP presented two different motions of censure, in two weeks, as both parties thought that the prime minister and the actual Government did not have conditions to keep their mandate.

What is a Moção de Confiança?

On 5 March, the Government presented a Moção de Confiança, which was not voted yet. The motion of trust, translated to English, can only be required by the Government to the Parliament, and as its name suggests, the Parliament votes to prove if it trusts the Government in functions or not. To be approved, it is required to have a relative majority of votes, which means that there will be more votes in favour of the motion than against. If there are more votes against the motion of trust, the Government ceases, and the President of the Republic can require new elections.

President of the Republic

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said that would hear each party in the Moção de Confiança is rejected. The President of the Republic has even announced that, in case of rejection, the new elections would happen between 11 and 18 May. To the journalists, he promised to act “as fast as possible”.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa predicts that the Moção de Confiança may be voted on 12 March, therefore the President of the Republic cancelled a State trip to Estonia, to be present in the country, in case a solution must be quickly found.

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Author

Deeply in love with music and with a guilty pleasure in criminal cases, Bruno G. Santos decided to study Journalism and Communication, hoping to combine both passions into writing. The journalist is also a passionate traveller who likes to write about other cultures and discover the various hidden gems from Portugal and the world. Press card: 8463. 

Bruno G. Santos