At a campaign dinner attended by thousands in Santa Maria da Feira, in the district of Aveiro, Luís Montenegro directed more criticism at the party led by André Ventura than at the PS and its secretary-general, Pedro Nuno Santos, who is also running in this constituency.
“In all honesty, the politicians of Chega do not respect the political will of those who voted for Chega a year ago. The politicians of Chega have a destructive attitude, they speak ill of everything and everyone,” he accused.
Montenegro expressed confidence in his stance, having previously argued that the PSD should not form any agreement with André Ventura’s party before the 2024 legislative elections.
“I believe that today everyone not only understands but agrees with this position,” he remarked.
The PSD leader argued that André Ventura, with 50 deputies, had the opportunity to demonstrate that he “was consistent with his ideas” but chose to side with the PS on various issues.
He provided two examples: “Did Chega vote with the government to further reduce IRS for the middle class? No! They voted with the PS. Regarding immigration, we proposed the creation of a foreign and border control unit within the PSP and new rules for the return of those here illegally. What did Chega do? Voted against two measures they had been proposing, for months if not years,” he criticized.
“I have already told the president of that party face-to-face that whether they have one or 50 deputies, the decision is always the same: speak ill of everyone and add nothing (…) They are not even good for themselves,” he stated.
As he had done earlier in Paredes, the AD leader again focused part of his speech on immigration, reiterating that “those who do not follow the rules must leave” and argued that this policy also protects immigrants who are in the country legally.
The prime ministerial candidate made two appeals with two weeks left until the early elections on May 18.
On one hand, to those who already intend to choose AD, he warned not to “fail to vote because elections are not won on voting intentions.”
For the undecided or those who might have previously voted for the PS or Chega, Montenegro suggested that they “don’t have to agree with everything,” but rather believe in “the path and execution capability” of the AD government.
“If you really want a stable government, if you want to wake up on Monday without regretting the choice you made on Sunday, then you have to concentrate your vote on the political force that offers conditions of stability,” he urged.
