This is the first State Budget of the XXV Constitutional Government, the second PSD/CDS-PP coalition government headed by Luís Montenegro, who took office less than five months ago.

The Secretary-General of the PS, José Luís Carneiro, announced two weeks ago, on October 15, after a meeting of the National Political Commission, that his party would abstain from voting on the 2026 Budget proposal in general, which ensured the viability of the proposal at this stage.

The vote against by Chega, the second largest parliamentary group, was announced on the day of the vote by the party's president, André Ventura, in statements to journalists in parliament, shortly before the closing of the general debate on the Budget.

José Luís Carneiro described the PS's position as a "demanding abstention" to "ensure political stability," after it was verified that the "basic conditions" he had set for the Prime Minister were guaranteed.

In announcing Chega's vote against, André Ventura justified this decision by stating that there is a "fiscal asphyxiation" on companies and families to "sustain a gigantic state machine" and also mentioned that "the Government is adamant in preventing the discount on fuels from ending."

The discussion of the State Budget in detail begins on Wednesday in the Budget, Finance and Public Administration Committee, where all ministers and institutions and bodies such as the Court of Auditors, the Economic and Social Council and the Public Finance Council will be heard.

The hearings end on November 7th, the deadline for parties to submit amendment proposals to the State Budget.

The final overall vote on the State Budget is scheduled for November 27th.

The new PSD/CDS-PP executive, headed by Luís Montenegro, presented the proposed State Budget for 2026 to the Assembly of the Republic on October 9th, one day before the deadline and three days before the local elections.

In the macroeconomic scenario on which the Budget proposal is based, the PSD/CDS-PP Government forecasts that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will grow by 2% this year and 2.3% in 2026.

The executive aims to achieve surpluses of 0.3% of GDP this year and 0.1% next year. As for the debt ratio, it estimates its reduction to 90.2% of GDP in 2025 and 87.8% in 2026.