PSD and PS, two crabs in a bucket
Faced with the threat of Chega, the two main Portuguese political forces pull each other down in an effort to prevent either from achieving political success. This dynamic between the two traditional parties is essentially aimed at neutralizing each other, rather than focusing on the common adversary.
While PSD and PS dedicate energy to holding each other back, Chega is progressively gaining strength. The party led by André Ventura manages to capitalize on the tensions between the two historical formations, benefiting from this internal dispute.
The crab metaphor illustrates how, when one of them tries to climb up, the others pull it back down, preventing any meaningful progress for any of the parties. This situation ultimately favors the growth of the third player, who watches and reaps the benefits of this fratricidal war between the established parties.
