The PM finally responded, and pointed the finger at Chega

After a summer of silence, the Prime Minister has finally spoken. It's Friday, 4 September. Twenty-nine degrees. Air quality: 34 (Good). Here's what you need to know.

🗞️ MONTENEGRO BREAKS SILENCE ON NEVES, CALLS CHEGA'S MOTION A "POLITICAL GAME"

Prime Minister Luís Montenegro has finally responded publicly to the controversy around Interior Minister Luís Neves, dismissing Chega's motion of no confidence as a "mere political game" that "makes no sense" and does nothing to solve the problems facing ordinary people. It was his first substantial comment after weeks of pressure, and it came the day after Chega leader André Ventura formally tabled the motion.

To recap how we got here: Neves, the Minister of Internal Administration and a former head of the Judicial Police, has faced a steady run of allegations through the summer tied to his time running the police, including questions over building works and the handling of items seized in drug-trafficking operations. Chega demanded his dismissal. Montenegro refused. Ventura then tabled a motion of no confidence, which if passed would force the entire government to resign.

Montenegro's response was pointed. He said the government's job was "to govern, solve problems and find solutions," and framed the motion as political theatre rather than a serious attempt to fix anything. He then turned the tables on Chega, suggesting the party's own conduct would be judged. "The opposition will be all the more capable of presenting itself as an alternative if it demonstrates a sense of responsibility," he said. "Nobody wants to govern a country with political forces that lack responsibility, or the sense of state required to place the interests of everyone above private interests." It was a clear signal that Montenegro sees Chega's move as damaging to its own ambitions to be taken seriously as a party of government.

Neves himself has refused to go. "Nothing will drive me away from what led me to accept this position," he said last week, casting the campaign against him as populist repetition of unproven claims designed to erode trust in institutions.

The motion is very unlikely to pass. It needs an absolute majority of all MPs, and the Socialists, whose votes would be essential, have already distanced themselves. It is the 37th motion of no confidence in the history of Portuguese democracy, and 35 of the previous 36 were rejected. Parliament's conference of leaders is expected to set a date for the debate in the coming days.

For anyone living here, the practical stakes are low in the immediate term, the government is not going to fall over this. But the episode matters as a signal. It shows how strained the relationship between the governing PSD and Chega, the party that props it up, has become, and it feeds directly into the wider picture of instability that saw Portugal placed on an international democracy watchlist last month.

Bottom line: a vote is coming that almost everyone expects to fail. The real damage is not to the government's survival, but to the fragile working relationship holding this parliament together.

⚡ QUICK HITS

Police are warning about a scam involving bank cards you never asked for. The GNR, one of Portugal's two main police forces, says fraudsters are sending unrequested credit or debit cards to people's homes, then following up with a call, text or email claiming to be from the bank. The caller says the card needs to be "activated," "cancelled" or "verified," and uses that pretext to extract passwords, security codes or banking details. The advice is simple: if a card you did not request turns up in the post, do not use it, do not try to activate it, and contact your bank directly using the number on their official website, not any number given to you.

Lisbon has unveiled a memorial to the 16 people killed in the Glória funicular disaster, one year on. The memorial was inaugurated on Thursday morning at Largo da Oliveirinha, beside the Calçada da Glória, where the historic funicular derailed on 3 September 2025. At its centre is a 150-year-old olive tree, ringed by 16 limestone blocks of differing heights, one for each victim, prepared to be engraved with their names. The victims came from 15 countries; five were Portuguese. Mayor Carlos Moedas attended the private ceremony alongside families and the Patriarch of Lisbon, who blessed the tree. The funicular has not run since, and families have criticised what they call a year of silence over the causes. The public prosecutor hopes to publish its final report by March, and Carris aims to have the funicular running again by 2029.

A heat warning is in force for 11 districts as summer makes a late return. IPMA, the Portuguese meteorological institute, has issued yellow warnings across much of the mainland as temperatures climb into the low-to-mid thirties. Lisbon, Santarém, Évora, Beja and Faro are among the districts affected. The heat is expected to peak over the weekend before easing early next week. The usual advice applies: stay hydrated, avoid the midday sun, and check on elderly neighbours.

TIME & SPACE — Find Your Next Event in Lisbon

If you have ever missed a concert because you only heard about it the morning after, or spent 20 minutes scrolling through Instagram trying to work out what is actually on this weekend, this is built for that.

TIME & SPACE is a free app made in Lisbon that maps events happening around you: concerts, festivals, nightlife, comedy, cinema, culture. Search by date, by neighbourhood, or just open the map and see what is nearby. It covers all of Portugal and works on iOS, Android and desktop.

There is also a photo feature. Go to an event, take a selfie, and the app pulls together photos from that night automatically. No trawling through strangers' stories the next day.

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→ Discover events in Lisbon

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🍽️ SPOT OF THE DAY

DANS LE NOIR ? (PICOAS)

Dans le Noir is not a restaurant you look at. It is dining in the dark: you eat in complete darkness, guided through the whole meal by waiters who are blind or visually impaired. It is part of an international group that started in Paris in 2004, and the Lisbon branch sits inside the Sheraton Lisboa Hotel on Rua Latino Coelho.

The format is a three-course surprise menu, starter, main and dessert, with an optional blind wine pairing, a glass matched to each course. You are not told what any of it is until afterwards, if at all. Stripped of sight, the other senses take over, and most people find they taste far more carefully than they normally would, guessing at ingredients and second-guessing themselves. Tables are shared, which sounds daunting and turns out to be the best part, as conversation with faceless strangers in the dark tends to loosen quickly. Expect to pay around €55 for the menu, or €69 with the wine. They can adapt for allergies and dietary needs, including vegetarian, if you tell them when you book.

It runs Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings only, from 7:30pm, and it books up, so reserve ahead.

→ Find them here ←

Insider tip: bring your partner or a good friend, someone you don’t mind being stuck in a pitch-black room with for two hours. Half the fun is arguing over what you are actually eating, and it’s more fun with someone on your team.

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