The Social Democrat leader arrived at the venue shortly after 8 PM, where several ministers, including António Leitão Amaro, the parliamentary leader, Hugo Soares, and the Mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas, were already present.
Luís Montenegro, accompanied by his wife, walked through the venue among the Social Democrat militants to the area where the stage is set up, declining to make statements to the journalists.
The speech by the PSD leader and head of government is scheduled to occur around 9:30 PM, said a party source.
The traditional Pontal Festival takes place on the promenade of Quarteira, near the beach of Forte Novo in the Faro district, marking the political start for the Social Democrats, an event that annually gathers hundreds of people, including leaders and militants.
Among the PSD figures, Carlos Moedas was the only one to address the issue of the fires ravaging the country, announcing that the Lisbon municipality will send 22 firefighters from the Sapadores to “help in the fight against the fires.”
“We stand in solidarity with what is happening and are making a team available to help,” he emphasized.
The Mayor of Lisbon acknowledged that the issue of fires will “certainly enter the October election campaign for the local elections,” contrary to what the President of the Republic expected.
On Wednesday, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa expressed gratitude to mayors, local election candidates, and “all” political parties for “resisting the temptation to use, during the fire-fighting times, the fires as a campaign theme.”
“I am happy as President of the Republic because I am certain that no candidate for any election will use the issue of fires as an electoral theme,” he stated to journalists after the regular weekly meeting with the Prime Minister, which took place at the Faro City Hall rather than the Belém Palace.
