Portugal's Prime Minister Montenegro Faces PS Demands Over Exam Scandal

Socialist Party secretary‑general José Luís Carneiro has repeatedly demanded that Prime Minister Luís Montenegro explain the failures in the national exam grading process that affects more than 300,000 students. Carneiro accused the government of “fraud” after reports that exam classifiers were instructed to grade incomplete papers and that subjects were mismatched, calling the situation “a grave matter for thousands of families, teachers and students.”

He urged Montenegro to “meter a mão na consciência” – to acknowledge what went wrong and outline steps to restore confidence. Carneiro said a Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry could be opened if satisfactory answers are not provided, and warned that many candidates may request exam revisions when results are published on 17 July.

The government has already postponed the release of first‑phase results and the schedule for the second phase. Opposition parties, including the Livre party, have proposed extending university admission deadlines to mitigate the impact on students. The controversy has intensified political pressure on Montenegro, with critics labeling him one of the worst Portuguese prime ministers since the 1974 revolution.