During the state of the nation debate in parliament, a remark by José Luís Carneiro led to tension between the parliament’s president, José Pedro Aguiar-Branco, and the Socialist Party (PS) following his statement that he had never encountered a “deputy as boastful” as Chega leader André Ventura.
The Socialist leader expressed that “democrats are perplexed” by the prime minister’s shift from his “no means no” policy to a “yes means yes” stance regarding Chega, accusing Montenegro of a “reckless combination of nationality, immigration, and security,” which he called “irresponsible.”
José Luís Carneiro stated it was “incomprehensible” for Chega to have announced a principle of agreement with the PSD on the nationality law.
The PS leader challenged the prime minister to either refute André Ventura or “explain what this agreement entails.”
In response, the prime minister stated he was unaware of any principle of agreement and assured that “the government will establish contacts with all other parties,” naturally being “more intense” with the two largest ones.
“Mathematics is what it is. Parliamentary mathematics wasn’t defined by me, but by the Portuguese,” he replied, urging the PS to “have the humility to live in this political time.”
