During a lively morning in the Braga district, where he visited two fairs in Cabeceiras de Basto and Vieira do Minho as part of the municipal election campaign, Montenegro was asked whether his promises in various councils were blending the roles of PSD leader and prime minister.
“I have been the most restrained and careful in not confusing the two roles, but as a party leader, I also have the right to express the will of my party, which at the moment is inseparable from the will of the Government, because the PSD is responsible for also conducting government policy,” he stated.
Montenegro defended that he is not “making announcements on behalf of the Government,” but rather for the PSD.
“I am speaking on behalf of the party, and in many circumstances, it is inevitable that my voice may, in essence, combine the two roles,” he said, adding that he had not said anything the opposition parties were unaware of.
Asked if these municipal elections could be a test for the Government, Montenegro again referred to the party’s agenda, reiterating a desire for an electoral victory the coming Sunday.
“It is a test for the party I lead, the PSD. It is a test for the two parties that make up the Government (PSD and CDS-PP) because they have very significant municipal expression, both individually and collectively when they run in many municipalities in coalition. It is a test we want to overcome by achieving an electoral victory,” he stated.
The social-democratic leader expressed a desire “to achieve more votes, more representation in mandates in parish councils, municipal councils, municipal assemblies, and more municipal presidency victories.”
“And I never hide behind any result, and so my duty is to fight for it, to be alongside our mayors,” he justified, on the approach to the campaign’s final stretch, which includes a busy agenda with sometimes five events per day separated by hundreds of kilometers.
At the two fairs, Montenegro heard appeals concerning pensions—both to increase their value and to lower the retirement age—without encountering any hostility, receiving many words of confidence instead.
From a Swiss emigrant, he heard a request to “do more for Portugal,” expressing a desire to return to the country, which Montenegro supported.
Throughout the campaign, the PSD leader has been regularly approached for selfies by supporters, a request he has not declined.
Welcomed in Vieira do Minho by a folk group and, as the hour was getting late, he tasted the bôla de chouriço and olives purchased by the PSD’s secretary-general, Hugo Soares, who has been present at many stops on the national tour, in addition to maintaining a parallel agenda with other candidates.
