During a speech at the presentation session of Livre’s municipal candidate in Caldas da Rainha, João Arroz, Rui Tavares argued that the Left “needs to be pragmatic” and “get used to winning.”
“We have to tell people that, despite the prestige that the idea of resistance holds in our political field, calling on people only to resist fascism means that many disconnect,” he stated.
While acknowledging that many citizens want to be a part of this resistance movement, whether due to “family memory” or a sense of “moral obligation,” Rui Tavares warned that many others disconnect and “consider living in another country where the political situation is a little better.”
“This is not what we need to tell people. We need to tell people to join us to win. People must feel they are part of a victorious movement. Not necessarily a victorious movement right now because we know the difficulties we face, but a movement that wants to win,” he said.
Rui Tavares emphasized the importance of this mobilizing discourse at a time when, he noted, there is a constant narrative on television suggesting that the degradation of democracy is “completely inevitable.”
In this regard, the spokesperson for Livre criticized the television coverage of Chega, noting that directors of information and programming treat the party’s leader, André Ventura, “like they used to treat Tony Carreira a while back: ‘the ratings are a bit low, call that guy.'”
“Supposedly, he says things that make people turn on the television… And even in this, they are wrong because the ones who say what people want to hear, contrary to what we are sold every day, are we and not them,” stated Rui Tavares.
The spokesperson for Livre claimed that Chega frequently appears on TV screens because it “attracts attention” in a way that is “politically effective, but absolutely inert and sterile for anything good,” accusing it of having a discourse based on “feelings of rancor and resentment.”
“We have another way to attract attention, and it is through what we call political objects of desire. It’s showing people how the city could be, talking to them, one by one. We will not wait for help from where no help comes,” he said, alluding to the media.
Emphasizing that Livre was the party that, proportionally, grew the most in the number of deputies in the last legislative elections, Rui Tavares urged the party’s militants not to expect the information directors to remember to ask them “what are they doing right, with the entire Left decreasing and them increasing.”
“See how many parties Livre already sees in the rearview mirror [in the polls] and we will not stop here, because IL is happening now and, believe this, the way to give people hope is to keep saying — even if it seems impossible now — that we want to challenge the far-right,” he stated.
Rui Tavares emphasized that Livre wants to be “the novelty and the most dynamic place in Portuguese politics” and to ensure that, “in some time,” the national political debate will be about “where do these people come from, what do they want and why are they growing instead of the far-right.”
“And by saying it, many people will understand that there is no other way right now to have some hope. That Livre is the big news and the great way to do things, which is the exact opposite of the politics of resentment, rancor, hatred, and division,” he stressed.
