During a televised debate broadcast by SIC, Luís Marques Mendes announced his intention to focus his first Council of State, should he be elected, on the reform of justice and anti-corruption efforts.
Distancing himself from André Ventura, Mendes criticized the Chega president for his frequent remark that “everyone is a thief,” reminding him that “he is not a policeman, nor a magistrate, and also not a candidate for sheriff of the Republic because that position does not exist.”
“Everyone talks about diagnoses; I will kick-start efforts to improve the justice system, which is ailing, and also strengthen, reinforce, and intensify the fight against corruption, which is the only area where we agree,” stated the former PSD president.
However, this proposal did not convince the Belém candidate and Chega leader, who dismissed it as “nonsense.”
“If Luís Marques Mendes thinks that a Council of State will solve the corruption problem in Portugal, it only shows that he will do exactly what everyone else has done: absolutely nothing,” Ventura critiqued.
Mendes outlined four priorities for discussion in this potential Council of State, one of which is the “excessive corporatism” in the Public Ministry, criticizing some prosecutors for opposing the “Manifesto of the 50,” an initiative bringing together politicians and citizens from various spheres to raise awareness of justice issues.
In response, Ventura accused Mendes of “attacking the justice system that investigates corrupt politicians” and siding with the “elite that never wants to be investigated.”
Mendes defended himself by stating that he supported the reappointment of Joana Marques Vidal as attorney general—unlike Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa—and highlighted that during his time as PSD leader, he replaced several mayors “who had legal issues.”
“The only known example on your side is having a deputy, Miguel Arruda, who simultaneously became a case of comedy and tragedy for stealing luggage at the airport,” Mendes remarked.
Ventura retorted that the PSD is “riddled with corruption from start to finish” and criticized Mendes for supporting and defending Miguel Albuquerque, the president of Madeira’s Regional Government, who is under judicial investigation.
The Chega leader also attempted to associate Marques Mendes with the current PSD/CDS-PP executive, accusing him of being “Luís Montenegro’s puppet” and the “crutch of the Government.”
At the start of the television clash, Marques Mendes accused Ventura of acting with a “total lack of statehood,” citing the Chega leader’s criticisms of the Angolan President’s comments on Portuguese colonialism in Luanda during the 50th anniversary celebrations of Angola’s independence and criticisms of the current head of state.
Ventura responded that his sense of state is “to defend Portugal to the end” and argued that when the country is insulted, “it deserves defense.”
