First government (2024–2025) , 2 April 2024. Montenegro was sworn-in as
prime minister of Portugal, heading the
XXIV Constitutional Government, on 2 April 2024 at a ceremony in the
Ajuda National Palace in Lisbon. Prior to taking office, Montenegro vowed to govern with a
minority government instead of forming a coalition with the ascendant right-wing populist party
Chega, and decried their leader
André Ventura as "often xenophobic, racist, populist and excessively demagogic". In May 2024, the Portuguese government under Montenegro announced that a
new Lisbon airport would be built in
Alcochete and would be ready by 2034. Days before the
2024 European Parliament election, Montenegro announced a toughening of Portugal's immigration laws; the country had previously allowed those with a tourist visa to apply for residency. He said that the existing laws had led to "excessive abuse of our willingness to receive".
Narendra Modi in 2024. In July 2024, he announced a reduction in
corporate income tax from the current 21% to 15%. This measure would cost the public purse around 500 million euros a year. In September 2024, Montenegro ran unopposed in the
PSD leadership election. He received 97.45% of the votes, while the majority of party members did not vote.
Tax benefits and Spinumviva cases In 2023, an anonymous complaint was sent to the
Portuguese Public Prosecution Service alleging that Montenegro received tax benefits granted for the restoration of old buildings when he did a complete demolition of an old building and built a new one in its place, in Espinho. A criminal investigation was later opened. On 2 December 2024, the Public Prosecution Office announced the closure of the criminal investigation due to finding no evidence of crimes or irregularities. On 15 February 2025,
Correio da Manhã newspaper published an investigation in which they found that Montenegro's family has a business with real estate interests, called Spinumviva. Montenegro confirmed the existence of the company, but denied it being only a real estate and that he had sold his shares to his wife after being elected PSD leader in 2022, denying any
conflict of interest. Opposition party Chega criticized the lack of answers from Montenegro and announced a
motion of no confidence, that was rejected by Parliament. However, it was later revealed that Montenegro's sale of his shares to his wife was, in fact, null, as the law does not allow share sales between spouses, making Montenegro still an active shareholder of the company. This raised further questions of possible conflicts of interest and Montenegro was pressed to reveal his full list of clients, something he avoided. On 28 February 2025,
Expresso newspaper reported that Spinumviva has been receiving a monthly payment of 4,500 euros by one of their clients, , a casino company, since 2021 and which continued while Montenegro was Prime Minister. In the aftermath of this report, Spinumviva disclosed the full list of clients and the services provided. On the same day, Montenegro announced he would "analyze his personal and political situation" and announce a decision on 1 March. Montenegro announced that his wife would leave the business and it would for now on be managed by his two sons, plus, he challenged Parliament to confirm its confidence in him, otherwise he would call a
vote of confidence. Two days later, on 3 March, the
Public Prosecution office announced that they received an anonymous tip against Montenegro and his company, adding that, for now, they are examining the complaint. The Socialist Party also announced a
Parliamentary inquiry committee to investigate the case. Montenegro called a vote of confidence, which he lost on 11 March, leading to the fall of his government. The motion lost 137 to 87 with no abstentions. More than 9 months after it was opened, the Public Prosecutor's Office closed the preliminary investigation, with no charges filed, on 17 December 2025.
2025 election Lula da Silva during
COP30, 7 November 2025. President
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa had made clear that he would call
snap elections if the government did not pass the motion of confidence. An election was called for 18 May 2025, in which Montenegro's alliance retained its plurality in parliament, but again fell short of a majority. The Democratic Alliance gained seats, while the PS lost seats and Chega made gains.
Second government On 29 May, Montenegro was invited once again to form a new government. The
XXV Constitutional Government of Portugal was sworn in on 5 June. His second term has been dominated by issues like
immigration, with the approval of new legislation, supported by
Chega, which further restricts migration policy, labour reforms that have received strong criticisms from
trade unions, reforms to the
National Health Service and to the
welfare state, in addition to trying to address the growing housing crisis. His government's response to
environmental disasters, such as the
August 2025 Portuguese wildfires and the
January 2026 Storm Kristin, have also raised questions of alleged slow response and lack of coordination, with the latter leading to the resignation of
Maria Lúcia Amaral as minister of home affairs. During the
2026 U.S.–Israeli strikes on Iran, Montenegro urged maximum restraint by all parties and condemned
Iran's strikes on neighboring states, while reiterating that Iran must end its
nuclear program. He defended his government's decision to allow the United States to use
Lajes Air Base in the
Azores for logistical support during military operations against Iran. ==Personal life==