The end of the Portuguese exceptionalism. Chega, the rise and consolidation of the radical right in Portugal.

The exceptional situation that characterised Portugal of being “immune” to the success of radical right parties, came to an end. For first time since their transition to democracy in 1974, and, in contrast to what has become common in European countries since the late 1990s, in 2019 Chega was de first radical right party to obtain representation in the Portuguese Parliament and its leader came third at 2021 Presidential elections. Its rapid rise and consolidation in the Portuguese political system, where it is the third political force, have generated numerous debates abouts its ideological nature, whether Chega is a radical right party or a rehabilitative offensive of the dictatorial past to establish a new authoritarian regime in Portugal. The objective of this paper is to analyse the context where the emergence of Chega is framed, elucidating its ideological nature, analysing the profile of its electorate, and locating this political formation on the map of the European radical right. To this purpose, firstly, it will be delved into a review of the existing literature on radical right in Portugal with the aim of studying the process of rise and consolidation of Chega in the Portuguese political system. Then, through a qualitative analysis of Chega´s electoral programs and discourse it will be studied its ideological nature, to later locate it on the map of the European radical right. Finally, using the online survey data from the Portuguese nation elections in 2019, 2021 and 2022, it will be analysed Chega´s electoral support.