During a public engagement in Espinho, the hometown of Luís Montenegro, José Luís Carneiro was asked by journalists if he had any advice for the prime minister.
“He should listen more to the PS because if he listened more to the Socialist Party, he wouldn’t make as many mistakes as he has in recent months,” he replied, citing housing, health, and labor legislation as areas where the government has erred.
The general secretary of the PS considered that the executive chief “should listen more to the PS, the moderate party,” and not so much to the more extremist party, referring to Chega, “which leads him down bad paths.”
“Life teaches me that power is a service, a perpetually precarious relationship. What would I say? Humility. People must have humility in their political functions, in the sense of service, in the sense of closeness, and strive to avoid thinking they are on a high horse leading them with arrogance to a safe haven,” he added.
Carneiro thus requests that the government “be humble, maintain closeness, and seek to listen to people.”
The PS leader was also questioned about the Spinumviva case, the family business of the prime minister, but he declined to elaborate, noting that the issue is “with the relevant authorities” and that justice should “do its work.”
These responses were given while the PS leader enjoyed a coffee at a café on Rua 19, during a public interaction accompanied by socialist candidate Luís Canelas, a visit to Espinho on a market day, although they did not visit the usual haunt of campaign caravans.
After the coffee, the entourage continued its journey, and further ahead, during another round of journalists’ questions, Carneiro reiterated that an “electoral victory is having more votes, more cities, more councils, more municipal assemblies.”
“It’s winning. We are not like some who even when they lose think they have won,” he quipped.
After the heavy defeat of the journalists, the PS leader sees “a reconstitution of the trust relationship with the PS.”
“People understood well what is at stake in these elections. Local elections are of great importance. Sometimes people get lost in other matters,” he stated.
[News updated at 3:21 PM]
