Portugal. The unexpected path of far left parties, from permanent opposition to government support

The aim of this work is to expand the knowledge of opposition in European legislatures through the study of the Portuguese case.1 We will do that along two main dimensions: the transformation of the party context and the outbreak of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). The Portuguese case represents a unique opportunity to explore the possible changes in the opposition parties’ behaviour, given the presence of a variety of political and economic conditions. First, the presence of two major parties alternating in offce and three radical parties that had neither been part of any government majority nor supported any executive until 2015 allows us to test the difference in the behaviour of temporary and permanent opposition. In addition, Portugal offers an insight into the impact of the economic crisis on the opposition’s behaviour. As a result, it is the perfect laboratory to test the effect of both dimensions.