In a statement to journalists in Lisbon during a campaign event for Sunday’s local elections, the president of Chega criticized the government for failing to address persistent issues within the police force, which it had promised to resolve.
André Ventura highlighted the situation of the PSP’s Foreigners and Borders Unit, stating that “currently it has neither units, nor resources, nor administrative support, not even headquarters, nothing at all.”
The Chega leader stated that the party attempted to schedule a visit to this unit but received no response.
“The prime minister has indeed lied,” he emphasized, arguing that “the government has deceived the police officers.”
“It’s true that the PS failed the police on all fronts. And while the PS Secretary General is the last who should be commenting on this, this government has been no different,” he criticized.
Concerning the negotiations starting today between the Ministry of Internal Administration and the PSP unions and GNR associations, Ventura said it’s necessary “to wait and see the outcome.”
“The security forces can’t expect much from the government, which has sided with others and continues to fail in recognizing the importance of risk and other benefits. The situation with firefighters is similar, justified by budgetary reasons, the same excuse given by the PS, and this continues,” he stated.
André Ventura also accused the prime minister of “blatantly exploiting the governance and mixing it with the local elections.”
“Perhaps because he believes he has either poor mayors or inadequate proposals for the local elections, the prime minister has made this campaign a sort of rehearsal for the State Budget. This is not correct, mixing these matters,” he criticized.
Earlier, during another campaign event in Moita, Setúbal district, the Chega president had already criticized the government over the state of healthcare, referencing the recent birth of a baby in an ambulance with the support of local firefighters.
“If people think this government has done anything better than the previous one, the issue of healthcare is a prime example,” he argued, suggesting elected officials in Sunday’s elections should deliver a “red card to the government” on this issue.
“We need to establish a municipal network delivering a red card to the government, particularly regarding healthcare. It’s unacceptable that babies continue to be born outside ambulances as if we were a third-world country,” he declared.
