“I believe it has already been made clear that the President of the Republic wants a government with conditions and stability, not a government to last just a year or six months. This reinforces what I’ve been saying, that only a victory for Chega on the right can guarantee this stability,” said André Ventura, speaking to journalists at the start of a campaign event in Viana do Castelo.
On Thursday, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa stated that he wishes to appoint a government with the assurance that its program will be approved in parliament, considering it the “fundamental question” in this matter.
André Ventura argued that with the current PSD leader, Luís Montenegro, “that stability is not possible,” and that it’s the same with the PS.
“The AD won last year, and we didn’t have stability […]. The PS won, and there was no stability. The only change, the only difference, is that Chega has never won,” he asserted.
When asked if he is willing to engage in dialogue with the Social Democrats following the legislative elections on May 18, the Chega leader stated he has never avoided dialogue and has supported what “needed to be supported, regardless of the political affiliation of those on the other side.”
“If I don’t have a majority, I will have to talk, yes. But even last year I was available to form that majority,” he said, pointing out that it was the PSD that didn’t want it.
“We will not be the crutch of a new government to have the same thing happen again. We believe we will lead that space, transform that space, and in transforming it, there will be all the conditions to have conversations and to establish a majority government,” he asserted.
He reiterated that his goal is to win these elections.
“Others need to adapt to that victory, transform themselves and accept reality. It doesn’t matter if the answer is no; if the Portuguese say yes, it is yes,” he maintained.
André Ventura also suggested that if Chega wins the May 18 elections, “it will force the entire right to reconfigure, compel the entire center-right space to change its attitude, as has been observed in other countries.”
“We will guarantee a four-year government for all. And the left can protest, throw tantrums in parliament; we will have a majority,” he claimed, indicating that polls anticipate “a majority between Chega and the PSD.”
“We cannot promise people a stable government when we know there are key figures who do not want to make that happen. And Luís Montenegro didn’t want it last year and doesn’t want it this year. Therefore, in this scenario, the Portuguese need to discuss what they want,” he emphasized.
In response to whether he is open to endorsing an AD government program, Ventura reminded that Chega has already endorsed the program of the current government: “We have done so in the past.”
The Chega president also noted that a potential government led by Chega would be composed of “names not associated with their party affiliation, but with their competence.”
