Half of Portugal wants the 2027 budget passed — and all eyes are on Chega
A poll published Tuesday shows 50.8% of Portuguese want the opposition to let the 2027 state budget pass; only 22.2% want it voted down, with 27% undecided.
The Portuguese have picked the ending they want for the next budget battle: 50.8% say the opposition should let the 2027 state budget pass, according to an Intercampus poll published this Tuesday. Only 22.2% want the document voted down — and a sizeable 27% have not made up their minds yet.
Which party holds the key to Portugal’s 2027 budget?
Respondents point squarely at Chega. The far-right party is seen as carrying the greatest responsibility for getting next year’s public accounts approved — simple parliamentary arithmetic, given that the minority government needs either votes in favour or a friendly abstention from André Ventura’s bench to survive budget season.
The voters’ message lands at a delicate moment. Luís Montenegro’s government just watched its labour reform get shot down in Parliament, the Socialists are sharpening a cost-of-living strategy, and the autumn budget cycle promises to be anything but dull. That large block of undecideds suggests plenty of people want to see what is actually in the document before taking sides — which is, frankly, a reasonable position.
When is Portugal’s 2027 budget presented?
The proposal is due in Parliament by 10 October, following the usual calendar, with the first vote weeks later — the process can be tracked on the Parliament’s official site. Between now and then, expect a steady count of votes, moods and red lines.
A poll is just a poll: it measures the room, it decides nothing. But when half the country asks for stability and only a fifth asks for a rejection, parties dreaming of snap elections lose one of their favourite talking points.
Image: Alvesgaspar / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
