Moderate candidate wins emphatically over a populist in Portugal's presidential runoff

LISBON, Portugal -- Center-left Socialist candidate António José Seguro recorded a thumping victory over hard-right populist André Ventura in Portugal’s runoff presidential election Sunday, according to official results with 99% of votes counted.Seguro won a five-year term in Lisbon’s riverside “pink palace” with 66.7% of votes, compared with 33.3% for Ventura.The ballot was an opportunity to test the depth of support for Ventura’s brash style, which has struck a chord with voters and helped make his Chega (Enough) party the second-biggest in the Portuguese parliament, as well as gauge the public appetite for Europe’s increasing shift to the right in recent years.European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen congratulated Seguro and said on social media that “Portugal’s voice for our shared European values remains strong.”Seguro, a longstanding Socialist politician, positioned himself as a moderate candidate who will cooperate with Portugal’s center-right minority government, repudiating Ventura’s anti-establishment and anti-immigrant tirades.He won the backing of other mainstream politicians on the left and right who want to halt the rising populist tide.In Portugal, the president is largely a figurehead with no executive power.Traditionally, the head of state stands above the political fray, mediating disputes and defusing tensions.However, the president is an influential voice and possesses some powerful tools, being able to veto legislation from parliament, although the veto can be overturned.

The head of state also possesses what in Portuguese political jargon is called an “atomic bomb,” the power to dissolve parliament and call early elections.In May, Portugal held its third general election in three years in the country's worst bout of political instability for decades, and steadying the ship is a key challenge for the next president.Ventura, an eloquent and theatrical politician, rejected political accommodation in favor of...