The phrase “no is no” has seemingly transformed into “no is yes”? After initially saying that the government had reached “a preliminary agreement on the so-called immigration package” with Chega, the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Carlos Abreu Amorim, clarified on Saturday that “there is no enduring agreement” with André Ventura’s party, as stated by the Prime Minister. Nonetheless, the Secretary-General of the Socialist Party (PS), José Luís Carneiro, urged Luís Montenegro “to tell the truth,” since “it’s been a long time since we had a minister contradicting the Prime Minister.”
“We will not engage in inconsequential controversies that are sterile; they are of no interest to the Portuguese. Regarding this issue, the Prime Minister was completely clear: there is no enduring agreement, no incidental agreement on any proposal, and we talk with all parties and make agreements with all parties,” Abreu Amorim responded when asked if he had contradicted Luís Montenegro by stating that there had been “a preliminary agreement” with Chega on immigration following the X National Convention of the Liberal Initiative (IL).
The minister went further, stating that there was “neither a preliminary agreement nor an agreement of principle.” “What happens is that we will govern with our program, and to do so, we will talk with all parliamentary groups.”
“We will talk with all parties, obviously prioritizing those with parliamentary groups that allow us to pass our proposals and legislation. Therefore, there is no issue in trying to find duplicity or some divergence in statements, because what the Prime Minister said is exactly what all members of the government say: we reach understandings and seek understandings with all parties and parliamentary groups within our guideline, which is the government’s program,” he added.
The president of Chega stated today that there is a “preliminary agreement” with the AD regarding some guidelines to change nationality laws, assuming there was a “commitment to block a series of hearings” requested by the left.
However, it should be recalled that Carlos Abreu Amorim admitted in an interview with Radio Observador that the government had established “a preliminary agreement” with Chega concerning immigration and IRS, noting ongoing discussions about the legal framework for Higher Education after Luís Montenegro said he was unaware of what that “preliminary agreement” revealed by André Ventura in the State of the Nation debate was about.
Also on Saturday, José Luís Carneiro stated that “only the Prime Minister can answer the question of why there is a minister contradicting the Prime Minister.”
“It’s been a long time since we had a minister contradicting the Prime Minister. In the interview with the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Dr. Carlos Abreu Amorim, whom I hold in high regard, he told the truth. He said that, indeed, there was an agreement with Chega, which they are now trying at all costs to deny,” he considered.
The PS Secretary-General stated today that “only the Prime Minister can claim to be telling the truth about potential agreements between the government and Chega, which they are now trying ‘at all costs’ to deny.”
In this regard, the leader of the socialists hinted that “it is necessary to ask the Prime Minister who is telling the truth; whether it is the Prime Minister, who said in Parliament that there was no agreement, or the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, who today [Saturday] said there was an agreement.”
For his part, the former Minister of Labor and Social Security, José Vieira da Silva, accused Montenegro of “forming an effective alliance with the far-right,” while advising the PS not to overreach in becoming the Executive’s preferred partner.
“For reasons that reason does not know, Luís Montenegro and his government have just formed an effective alliance with the far-right. And the far-right in Portugal, as in many other countries, has rhetoric that is very centered on xenophobia, often racism, and blaming all the world’s troubles on immigration,” he said in statements to the program Conversa Capital, on Antena 1 and Jornal de Negócios.
It should be noted that the “no is no” stance imposed by Luís Montenegro on Chega dates back to the early elections of 2024, a principle that the Prime Minister deemed valid for this year’s elections during the face-to-face with André Ventura. On that occasion, he further indicated it was “impossible” to govern with Chega, since that party “lacks ideological consistency,” “behaves like a political weather vane,” and “lacks maturity and decency.” During the televised debate, the Prime Minister also accused André Ventura of having “a destructive tendency” and lacking a “governing vocation.”
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