The Socialists in Portugal appear to have suffered a bitter defeat in the early elections. According to forecasts, the conservatives are ahead - but the big winner is the right-wing populist Chega party.
A very difficult government formation is expected in the next few weeks. Portugal's President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa called the vote in November after the Socialist Prime Minister António Costa resigned in the wake of a corruption scandal. The last election in January 2022, the PS won with a good 41 percent and won an absolute majority with 120 of the 230 seats.