| Colorcode: |
|
| Rise Up | |
| Native Name: | Ergue-te |
| President: | José Pinto Coelho |
| Headquarters: | Lisbon |
| Youth Wing: | Renovator National Youth (Juventude Nacional Renovadora) |
| Position: | Far-right |
| European: | Alliance of European National Movements |
| Seats1 Title: | Assembly of the Republic |
| Seats2 Title: | European Parliament |
| Seats3 Title: | Regional parliaments |
| Seats4 Title: | Local Government |
| Colours: | Black, Blue and Red |
| Country: | Portugal |
| Abbreviation: | E |
Rise Up (pt|Ergue-te, E), originally the National Renewal Party (PNR) is a Portuguese far-right[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] nationalist political party. Its motto is Nation and Work and one of its goals consists in the appreciation of a Portuguese nationalist spirit. The party results legally from the alteration of statutes approved in the VII Nacional Convention of the old Democratic Renewal Party (PRD) requested on March 17, 2000 and validated by the Constitutional Court on April 12, 2000. This change implicated in the change of name, acronym and logo. Its president is, since June 2005, José Pinto Coelho. In a report published by the North American NGO GPAHE against hate and extremism, Ergue-te was classified, along with ADN and Chega, as a hate and far-right group.[6]
In July 10, 2020, wanting to change its public image and undo misconceptions arising from the confusion between the acronyms PNR and PDR - the former Republican Democratic Party, now named National Democratic Alternative -, they changed its name to Ergue-te, with the acronym E, this alteration was accepted and registered by the Constitutional Court following deliberation taken by the National Council of PNR in November 23, 2019.[7]
The party is also described as islamophobe[8] and against Portugal's NATO membership.[9]
Since the beginning of 2006, it has tried recruiting young students at secondary schools and in universities. This situation has once again drawn the authorities attention, having sent a report to the Education and Internal Administration Ministries. According to the report, even though the then PNR party was legalized, there was an effective risk of transmission of xenophobic and potentially violent ideas to young people.[10]
The Youth's leader confirmed this recruitment, refuting, however, the transmission of messages with a criminal or violent nature to young people.[11]
After the name change in 2020, the party youth was renamed "Lover's Lane" (Ala dos Namorados), inspired by the right wing of the Portuguese army in the Battle of Aljubarrota.[12]
E has been involved in many controversies. In 2006, it got involved in the demonstration by security forces agents against the government. The Diário de Notícias article about the participation of the then PNR reads:
"It was total chaos. It had been almost 120 minutes from the set time for the beginning of the parade by the security force agents against the government policies when the organizers arrived at the Marquis of Pombal Square to warn that, after all, there wasn't going to be a demonstration. With the argument that the PSP, GNR, Maritime Police and Foreigners and Border Services agents refused to "parade next to neonazis" (and PNR representatives) that had gathered there to participate. And with fear that there was going to be conflicts between both sides. The decision by the organizers - the Permanent Coordinating Committee of Unions and Associations of Security Forces and Services - enraged the agents of many task forces. The protests increased in tone, confusion arose and, all of a sudden, when they least expected it, the security forces agents passed over the organizer's decision and started their parade. The Coordinating Committee had lost control over the situation. The parade was, indeed, done, until Terreiro do Paço, where the Ministry of Internal Affairs was. There, the agents demanded changes in the health system, retirement and better work conditions. The far-right militants, after having had a stage to talk to the media started to disperse, seeing groups here and there along the parade. But they didn't follow the demonstration behind the police forces."[13]
Some of its members were convicted of racial discrimination and violent crimes, among others, the murder of a PSR leader (José Carvalho) and the racially motivated murder of Alcindo Monteiro,[14] after being linked to right-wing armed groups such as the National Front and Portuguese Hammerskins. However, the way these groups act had led to a distancing by the then PNR towards said groups.[15] [16] As a result, the former Portuguese Hammerskins leader Mário Machado has decided to try to create a new party, the New Social Order.[17]
In the 2005 legislative elections, the then PNR obtained just under 0.2% of the vote, failing to elect any deputies to Parliament by a wide margin. In the 2009 European election, the party had about 13,000 votes, having 0.37% of the vote, the party had its higher results in the districts of Lisbon and Setúbal. 2015 was the year the party most increased in votes, having received 27,269 votes in the legislative elections. An increase of just over 50% in comparison to 2011.
Since 2019 the right-wing populist Chega seems to be taking votes away from PNR.
| Election | Leader | Votes | % | Seats | +/- | Government | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | align=left | António Cruz Rodrigues | 4,712 | 0.1 (#10) | |||
| 2005 | José Pinto Coelho | 9,374 | 0.2 (#9) | 0 | |||
| 2009 | 11,628 | 0.2 (#12) | 0 | ||||
| 2011 | 17,742 | 0.3 (#10) | 0 | ||||
| 2015 | 27,269 | 0.5 (#9) | 0 | ||||
| 2019 | 17,126 | 0.3 (#13) | 0 | ||||
| 2022 | 5,236 | 0.1 (#19) | 0 | ||||
| 2024 | 6,034 | 0.1 (#16) | 0 |
| Election | List leader | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | EP Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Paulo Rodrigues | 8,405 | 0.3 (#11) | – | ||
| 2009 | Humberto Nuno Oliveira | 13,214 | 0.4 (#12) | 0 | ||
| 2014 | 15,036 | 0.5 (#12) | 0 | |||
| 2019 | João Patrocínio | 16,165 | 0.5 (#13) | 0 | ||
| 2024 | 8,540 | 0.2 (#11) | 0 |
