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Portugal has had a parliament since 1820, in various formats and political regimes. The current parliament, the Assembleia da República (AR), was introduced in 1976 following the fall of Salazar’s 48 years of authoritarian regime and the introduction of a democratic regime in 1974. The key characteristic of this parliament, even today, is the very strong role played by party as the key unit of representation. The Portuguese political system is a semi-presidential one, where the President of the Republic is directly elected by the people every five years and has veto powers. The government is officially nominated by the President, but in accordance with the views expressed in the elected parliament. The government and PM are politically responsible to parliament, an institution that plays therefore a key role in what has been called a triangular system.