Portugal’s parliament launches no-confidence motion expected to fail

Portugal’s parliament is preparing to debate a no-confidence motion that is almost certain to fail, but the proceedings will put Interior Administration Minister Luís Neves back at the centre of a growing political controversy.

The far-right Chega party filed the motion against the conservative government of Luís Montenegro. Parliament’s Permanent Commission will meet on Monday to formally call an extraordinary plenary session for Tuesday, when lawmakers will debate the motion.

The Socialist Party and Liberal Initiative have said they will vote against it, ensuring that the motion lacks the support needed to pass. Even so, the debate will increase pressure on Montenegro to explain why he continues to back Neves.

Neves is scheduled to appear before parliament’s Committee on Constitutional Affairs, Rights, Freedoms and Guarantees five hours before the no-confidence debate. He is expected to answer questions about alleged irregularities from his period as national director of the Judicial Police.

Portuguese prosecutors have reported three investigations involving Neves. One concerns a trailer seized during an anti-drug operation, another involves construction work at a family property in Odemira, and the third concerns his use of a vehicle confiscated by the Judicial Police. A Court of Auditors procedure and an administrative investigation into decisions made during his leadership of the agency are also under way.

The controversy began with reports that a company carrying out work at Neves’s property had received several Judicial Police contracts while he led the body. It later emerged that a trailer seized in Operation Pacoba, which targeted cocaine trafficking, had been left at the same businessman’s facilities. Neves was also reported to have used a vehicle confiscated in another anti-drug investigation.

The latest disclosure concerns a 2022 court order reportedly rejecting a request from Judicial Police management to assign dozens of assets seized from a drug trafficker for police use. The Judicial Police says some of those objects remain in use at its facilities, but says it can no longer access the case file to establish whether it received the order. Neves has denied wrongdoing.