PS leader Carneiro says PM Montenegro failed national exams, gave "frivolous answers" at music festival

Exam correction crisis

José Luís Carneiro, the leader of Portugal's Socialist Party (PS), launched a sharp attack on Prime Minister Luís Montenegro over the handling of this year's national secondary-school exams. Speaking at two party events on 12 July, Carneiro said the government had caused "chaos" in the grading of exam papers and accused Montenegro of failing to address the public. More than 350,000 students are waiting for their results, which were postponed and are now expected on Friday 17 July.

The Government, the Prime Minister, failed in an area where he could not fail: the evaluation of our young people who want to apply for higher education.

Demand for accountability

Carneiro urged the prime minister to "search his conscience" and to say publicly what went wrong and what is being done to restore trust in the grading process. He criticized Montenegro for speaking "with some disdain at a music festival" instead of giving a formal, official explanation alongside the education team.

The Prime Minister, instead of a clear response that would give confidence, show humility in recognizing what went wrong, spoke with some disdain at a music festival. What I tell him is that he must search his conscience and be aware that he is the Prime Minister of the country.

The PS leader said it was more important to reassure the families and young people waiting for grades than to focus on the education minister, Fernando Alexandre. He kept the door open to a parliamentary inquiry proposed by the Left Bloc, stating it might be needed or not depending on whether the government shows humility and explains the failures.

Broader policy failures

Beyond the exam crisis, Carneiro used his speeches to accuse the government of broken promises in health care and housing. He said that two years after Montenegro pledged a family doctor for every Portuguese by December 2025, 1.6 million people still lack one. Waiting lists for surgeries and oncology surgeries have grown, he added. The government was also blamed for dismantling education services and failing to tackle the cost of living.

Two years later, today we have more people without a family doctor. We have one million six hundred thousand Portuguese waiting for a family doctor and, worse, waiting lists for surgeries and oncology surgeries have increased.

Political positioning

Carneiro said the PS had offered proposals on housing, the new Lisbon airport and the privatisation of TAP, but the government ignored them. He portrayed the attacks from opponents as proof that the PS was "on the right path" after being dismissed as doomed. The speeches, delivered at the Portalegre district federation congress and the FAUL congress in Lisbon, were an attempt to focus blame on Montenegro personally ahead of the expected exam results.