As the first week of the electoral campaign for the legislative elections set for May 18 draws to a close, party leaders with parliamentary seats are expressing increasing enthusiasm about the forthcoming results.
In Viana do Castelo, during a traditional walkabout, Luís Montenegro urged everyone to fight “to the end for a greater majority.” Later, at a rally held at the market in Vila Nova de Famalicão, Braga, the leader of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) expressed that he feels “the responsibility of being the beacon of the country” and appealed to Portuguese citizens who seek stability to “vote massively” for the Democratic Alliance (AD).
At a rally in his hometown, Nuno Melo, the president of the CDS-PP and coalition partner, commented on Pedro Nuno Santos, claiming that since Santos left the socialist government of António Costa “through the back door” and was unfit to be a minister, he should not be considered for the role of Prime Minister now.
The Socialist Secretary-General, during a walkabout in Santo Tirso, stated that he believes the Socialist Party (PS) is gaining momentum in this campaign and will win the elections, asserting that people desire a secure and stable change of government.
“Throughout the journey we have made in recent days and here in Santo Tirso, we feel that we are gaining ground and that we will reach May 18 with a great victory,” said Pedro Nuno Santos at the end of the walkabout, which had the warmest reception of this electoral campaign before he drove off on his motorcycle for a lunch in Famalicão.
The Secretary-General of the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP), Paulo Raimundo, also expressed confidence while in Guimarães, where he received words of support in the streets. “The atmosphere isn’t everything—the atmosphere doesn’t vote,” he noted, yet it provides confidence to the CDU at the end of the campaign’s first week.
Meanwhile, at a rally-festival in Porto, the national coordinator of the Left Bloc (BE), Mariana Mortágua, made an appeal for the votes of the “invisible and forgotten” in society, criticizing the right for allegedly “not knowing what work is” and directing criticism towards the Liberal Initiative.
On the day of a decisive national football championship match between Benfica and Sporting, the Liberal Initiative organized a beach volleyball game in Oeiras. Rui Rocha refrained from disclosing any post-election alliances but stated his openness to welcome anyone seeking change.
The spokesperson for Livre attended the Alverca fair, warning voters that the right is not fond of rights and would like to do away with them. Rui Tavares suggested that a central bloc comprising the PS and PSD would be undesirable and problematic for the country as it would leave the opposition to the far right.
For the fourth consecutive day, Chega’s delegation was met by a new protest from a member of the Romani community. In the municipal market of Vila Real, André Ventura announced he has received death threats but will not alter his campaign “by a millimeter” and does not plan to file a complaint or bolster his private security.
In Baltar, Paredes, where the party’s spokesperson attended a U-16 women’s handball match, a representative of People-Animals-Nature (PAN) expressed confidence in electing a deputy in Porto, for which around 800 votes were missing in the 2024 legislatives, thus contributing to the formation of a parliamentary group in the Assembly of the Republic.
