André Ventura scheduled a press briefing for this afternoon at Lisbon airport, before departing for the Azores as part of the pre-campaign for the May 18 general elections, to address the latest news concerning the prime minister.
Today, reports have emerged suggesting that Luís Montenegro had concealed several bank accounts from the Constitutional Court. The prime minister denied these allegations, asserting that for approximately two months, he has faced reports he believes to be misinformation and manipulation of facts.
Montenegro admitted to receiving an inquiry from the Public Prosecutor’s Office, which he stated was prompted by an earlier report suggesting he used multiple accounts to pay for a property acquisition.
“In any case, the Public Prosecutor read the report, asked me, and I responded. There is nothing abnormal about this,” he emphasized in Valpaços.
Prime Minister Luís Montenegro emphasized that the “clarifications have been provided” and the matter is considered closed.
Notícias ao Minuto with Lusa | 14:17 – 12/04/2025
According to André Ventura, the recent report, along with a piece by Expresso from Friday about the PSD’s financing involving a former client of Montenegro’s, “raises serious suspicions of influence and corruption that the Public Prosecutor’s Office must clarify in due time.”
“But there is something that Chega and André Ventura must do, which is to demand answers from the prime minister—answers in a timely manner to prevent contamination of the entire electoral campaign,” he stated.
Thus, he added, his appeal is directed squarely at Luís Montenegro, not the judiciary.
“If he wants to avoid an election campaign solely based on suspicions about himself, the lack of transparency in the Government and the PSD, he must clarify and not allow this to escalate and reach the electoral campaign completely tainted in terms of political debate,” he asserted.
Otherwise, he claimed, “the country will witness an election campaign probably unlike any before, unnecessary, barely informative for everyone, as we’re selecting a sitting prime minister with new daily suspicions he cannot clarify.”
“I think this is serious and deserves urgent clarification from the prime minister and the PSD leader,” he remarked.
André Ventura argued that the report from Correio da Manhã “confirms there may have been an attempt by the prime minister to conceal assets by distributing them across different bank accounts,” keeping them below the legal oversight threshold required for public officeholders from 43,500 euros.
“I am increasingly convinced that we have a prime minister with a severe lack of seriousness,” he asserted, noting that “on the brink of elections, this becomes extremely grave.”
The Chega leader acknowledged that the public demands politicians run campaigns focused on concrete proposal themes but warned of potential difficulties.
“We can’t move past this if the prime minister faces new allegations every day and cannot clarify them,” he cautioned.
