Tracking Poll: Amid escalating social tension, Luís Neves drops to become the worst-performing minister
A weekly tracking poll by Pitagórica shows the Minister of Internal Affairs, Luís Neves, has become the least popular government member with a 35% negative rating. The poll also indicates a four-percentage-point drop in the approval rating for the President, António José Seguro, currently at 66%.
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The party Livre has requested an opinion from the President of the Assembly of the Republic, José Pedro Aguiar-Branco, regarding a potential conflict of interest. The concern stems from the fact that the leader of the Chega party is an assistant in the legal case involving the alleged theft of documents from a previous parliamentary inquiry (CPI).
The government declared an alert situation across the entire mainland territory for Wednesday 11 November 2026, imposing exceptional measures such as the closure of public, private, and social sector educational establishments and non-essential public services. While the decree does not explicitly order private businesses to close or create a special justified-absence regime, the Minister of Internal Administration, Luís Neves, called for telework wherever possible and stated that parents have the right to stay home with minors. Legal experts generally recommend that employers accept justifications and pay the day, including meal allowances, when telework is not possible, pointing to the constitutional right to work in health and safety conditions. However, unions like CGTP argue that the decree merely appeals to employer comprehension without legally guaranteeing paid justified absences for travel difficulties or childcare due to school closures, demanding formal protection so workers suffer no pay cuts.
A weekly poll by Pitagórica shows the Socialist Party (PS) leading with 29.4% of voting intentions, followed by Chega at 27.9% and the AD coalition at 21.6%. The survey also indicates that José Luís Carneiro has overtaken Luís Montenegro as the preferred candidate for Prime Minister, while 60% of respondents now disapprove of the Government's performance.