Speaking in Estoril, Cascais, during the Liberal Initiative’s National Autarchic Meeting, João Cotrim de Figueiredo criticized remarks made today in Ansião by the Chega leader, André Ventura, who expressed belief in contesting the second round of the presidential election against Admiral Gouveia e Melo.
“I don’t know if you pay much attention to André Ventura’s political forecasting abilities; he can’t even predict his own decisions,” the liberal MEP quipped.
“Not even a month ago, the only suit he was interested in was the prime ministerial suit, so he can’t even predict his tailoring choices, let alone the results of the first round,” he added, expressing confidence in a victory.
Cotrim de Figueiredo was then categorical: “I am in a position to reach the second round and, reaching the second round, I have no doubt that I will win.” The liberal candidate also lamented the criticisms made by the prime minister’s office, Luís Montenegro, regarding the moment the Public Prosecutor’s Office requested information about the company Spinumviva.
“It seems like a reheated discussion from the legislative elections,” including “the insinuations that the Public Prosecutor’s Office manages the timing of investigations based on electoral calendars,” commented Cotrim de Figueiredo.
“One should never question the independence of the Public Prosecutor’s Office without being certain about what is being discussed,” highlighted the presidential candidate, considering that if the Prosecutor’s Office “requests the documentation it requests, it is because it needs it to properly instruct the process,” and it is up to the prime minister “to provide the necessary documentation without comments and to do so as quickly as possible.”
But then, “it is up to the judiciary to be as swift as possible, to avoid this permanent suspicion hanging over the head of a very important political officeholder still in power,” he added.
Cotrim de Figueiredo also criticized the “lack of clarity” in the Government’s proposals for the housing sector.
“When such measures are announced and nobody understands exactly what is at stake, it not only won’t help solve the problem, but it also generates more noise and entropy,” he said, considering that “solutions must be simple in themselves and easy to explain and understand,” because otherwise, “no service is being rendered” to the population.
