Portugal’s New Conservative Party
30th May 2023
In a nation long dominated by the Left, a new conservative political party, Nova Direita (Portuguese for ‘New Right’) is trying to seize the moment. The movement is led by Ossanda Liber, an Angolan-born lawyer who has become a rising star for the weakened and fractured Portuguese Right.
Liber, 46, is a fresh face in politics, although she is not without experience. Her first taste of front-of-the-line politicking was in 2021, when she ran for mayor of Lisbon. During the campaign, she made a name for herself in a much-discussed interview with state-owned broadcaster RTP, in which the journalist bluntly told her that he believed “Portugal to be a systemically racist country.” “Do you think so? I do not,” answered Liber, in what became a major moment for anti-‘woke’ politics in the country. Liber then proceeded in 2022 to run for parliament as part of Aliança, a small right-of-centre party. With the European parliamentary election drawing near, she is now launching her own force.