Portugal’s Democratic Paradox: How A Democracy Confronts The Crisis Of Trust

Portugal occupies a unique position in Europe’s democratic landscape. As a late democracy established just fifty years ago after more than four decades of dictatorship, it finally consolidated its democratic institutions and welfare state precisely as the age of misinformation and populism began to dawn. This historical conjunction has created a distinctive paradox: Portuguese citizens simultaneously rely on and question their state institutions, producing what studies by independent and academic institutions reveal as a society caught between dependence and doubt.

The Portuguese recognise their state’s role in providing universal services, yet frequently question its capacity to deliver effective solutions. Many citizens perceive government institutions as inefficient, excessively bureaucratic, and disconnected from their daily needs. Yet this criticism coexists with genuine appreciation and even praise for the state’s achievements. Citizens particularly value essential public services such as healthcare and education. According to the Special Eurobarometer on the Digital Decade 2025, 71 per cent of Portuguese citizens believe digitalisation of public and private services has improved their lives—a testament to successful modernisation efforts.

Like many European nations, Portugal has witnessed mounting challenges to the citizen-state relationship in recent years. Political instability and the rise of populist parties have shaken traditional political foundations. Electoral abstention has increased across most elections, while narratives about policy discontinuity have gained traction. Many citizens feel that economic growth and job creation have failed to translate into tangible improvements in their quality of life. The housing emergency represents perhaps the most visible failure of market mechanisms to serve social needs, while corruption perceptions continue to fuel institutional mistrust.

This erosion of trust, however, must be understood within a broader European context. The decline reflects a pattern affecting socialist and social democratic parties across Western democracies, where moderate forces struggle against the triple threat of disinformation, fragmented media landscapes, and rising populism. Portugal’s experience offers crucial lessons for how young democracies can navigate these turbulent waters.

The State as Guardian of Progress and Prosperity

The Portuguese state embodies multiple, interconnected roles that reflect the country’s social democratic tradition since democratisation. The debate about the state’s proper role remains cyclical in Portugal, driven by successive waves of public administration reform. Rather than embracing a single vision, Portugal has developed a hybrid model that combines several state functions: provider of universal services, economic regulator, social safety net, and collaborative partner in policy networks.

This layered construction became particularly evident during the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent economic crisis. These crises reinforced expectations that the state should guarantee health, education, and social protection—viewed as pillars of social stability and fairness—while simultaneously exposing institutional limitations. The relationship between state and citizens remains marked by ambivalence: a mixture of reliance, frustration, and cautious optimism.

This duality—deep reliance coupled with frustration—defines contemporary Portuguese attitudes toward government. Citizens demand a state that improves efficiency without abandoning universality, that decentralises while maintaining national cohesion. The state serves as guardian of progress and prosperity, fostering a dynamic and innovative economy alongside a fair and inclusive society, employing flexible tools and partnerships to adapt to contemporary needs.

The Socialist Party has responded by reaffirming fundamental commitments to six key areas. First, maintaining a robust and modern National Health Service. Second, preserving a public pension system that guarantees intergenerational equity. Third, ensuring quality public education that promotes qualifications and equal opportunities. Fourth, implementing fair and equitable wage policies to reduce inequality and promote social mobility. Fifth, developing a comprehensive National Pact to address the housing crisis. Finally, simplifying citizens’ and businesses’ relationships with the state through real-time service tracking, open government data, and seamless digital interactions. Additionally, it has identified five areas of sovereignty as natural for establishing consensus with other parties within the democratic arc: foreign and European policy; defense; security; justice and organization of the State.

The Path Forward Through Democratic Renewal

State reform and administrative modernisation have dominated political and public debate in Portugal for decades. The pandemic crisis revealed that Portugal was better prepared than anticipated, thanks to transformations driven by the modernisation flagship programme Simplex, launched in 2006. Pre-filled tax declarations, the Digital Mobile Key (an authentication and digital signature solution used by over 2.5 million people), the Gov.pt app (which allows sharing certified versions of identification documents), and SNS24 (an omnichannel service ensuring simple and effective access to the National Health Service) exemplify successful initiatives that have transformed citizen-state interactions.

Multiple strategies and action plans have promoted improved interoperability, cybersecurity, data reuse, and cross-border services. Yet inclusion remains a critical challenge, requiring Portugal to address persistent digital divides through literacy programmes that improve citizens’ digital skills and territorial support in remote locations, preventing the exclusion of elderly or low-income populations. Over the past twenty years, Citizen Shops—one-stop shops offering public and private services—and Citizen Spots—counters combining digital services with human support—have proliferated locally and in diplomatic missions, bridging the digital divide.

The adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) brings fresh challenges to public services, demanding not only new skills for workers but also frameworks ensuring ethical use of these powerful technologies.

Beyond digitalisation, three aspects prove fundamental for modernisation. First, since local governments enjoy higher trust levels, continuing decentralisation of responsibilities to local authorities, with clear objectives to reinforce territorial cohesion, offers a promising path forward. Second, defining a transformation strategy for the entire public sector requires rethinking both organisation and management models, focusing on attractive people management systems, enhanced training, flexible career paths, and leaders capable of mobilising their teams. Third, enhancing participatory democracy emerges as one of the best antidotes to the mistrust undermining democratic institutions. Increasing citizen involvement in decision-making through instruments that give voice to the people will help meet the challenges ahead.

These challenges loom large in times of uncertainty and rapid change, marked by multiple shocks including pandemics, extreme climate events, increasingly hybrid wars across the globe, and the rise of democratically elected populist governments. Success requires anticipation, readiness, and resilience. Most importantly, it demands genuine inclusion, because human qualities and shared values must remind us what kind of world we want to inhabit. This moment offers an opportunity to reinvigorate citizenship and strengthen civic spirit and belonging to the human community.

Modernising while maintaining universal provision, improving efficiency without abandoning equity—these goals require long-term vision and commitment between parties to make reforms both possible and sustainable. Only through such comprehensive reforms, built with the people for the people on genuine common ground, can the state rebuild the trust necessary for democratic vitality and social progress. Portugal’s experience demonstrates that young democracies can navigate the crisis of trust, but only through patient work that combines institutional innovation with deep commitment to democratic values.

This article is part of a series on global discussions about the state and government, produced in partnership with the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung.