The article by Luís Ganhão addresses the electoral growth of the Chega party in Portugal and the lack of self-criticism on the part of traditional parties that have governed the country since the April 25, 1974 revolution. The author finds it curious how these parties react to the emergence and growth of Chega, without any equally demanding reflection on the reasons that led many voters to distance themselves from them.
Ganhão raises several questions about the possible failures of these parties: what promises they failed to keep, what commitments they abandoned, and what responsibility they bear for the growing distrust of citizens toward politics and institutions. The author suggests that this distrust may be linked to issues such as wages, job insecurity, housing, education, healthcare, and transparency in public administration.
The article argues that reducing Chega's growth to populist manipulation is too convenient and insufficient an explanation. Voters, according to the author, are not an amorphous mass and may vote out of conviction, protest, disillusionment, or because they no longer find in traditional parties answers to their problems. Understanding these motivations does not mean justifying Chega, but rather recognizing that the discontent fueling the party did not necessarily begin with it.
Ganhão concludes that traditional parties need to look less at their opponent and more at themselves, questioning the reasons for the loss of voter trust and acknowledging that part of the social and political discontent is real. A healthy democracy, he argues, requires from parties the courage to critically examine their own track record and acknowledge mistakes.
