Luís Marques Mendes spoke following a lunch organized by the International Club of Portugal in Lisbon, after being generally questioned about immigration issues in Portugal.
The former PSD president and current member of the Council of State emphasized that “immigration is a great opportunity for Portugal” and suggested that the future revision of the nationality law should be agreed upon by the Government, at least with the PS.
Marques Mendes mainly addressed concerns regarding the foreigners’ law, approved by PSD/CDS and Chega in parliament, which was later deemed unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court (TC).
Contrary to some reactions within the PSD/CDS executive against the TC’s decision, the former Social Democrat minister sought to ease tensions regarding the legislative process of the Government’s proposal to revise the foreigners’ law.
“I must say it was the normal functioning of institutions. When institutions function, we should be pleased. The Government made a proposal, parliament passed a law, the President [of the Republic] had doubts and sent them to the TC – and the TC deliberated,” he declared.
The former minister even stated that the TC’s decision might have been “a great help for the Government.”
“Although the Government did not react that way, it was a great help, because such a law benefits from passing through the Constitutional Court’s scrutiny. Now, it will be corrected in the points declared unconstitutional, surely promulgated afterward, resulting in a stable law,” he asserted.
The future law, according to Marques Mendes, will avoid “the risk of one court in Faro deciding one way and a court in Trás-os-Montes deciding another.”
“That would be total confusion,” he concluded.
Politically, the presidential candidate argued that immigration should be an area with “a culture of compromise” between parties, particularly in revising the nationality law.
“I must say that, if there is strategic sense, this law should be approved with broad consensus, specifically involving the Government parties and the PS,” he advocated. Several members of the current Government, including State and Finance ministers Joaquim Miranda Sarmento and Parliamentary Affairs minister Carlos Abreu Amorim, listened to his words.
Earlier, distancing himself from the far-right, Marques Mendes warned that “Portugal cannot survive, nor succeed, without immigration.”
“Whether this is politically correct or incorrect doesn’t matter; it is important. We must start fostering the truth rather than fiction,” he highlighted, also pointing out the problems in immigration integration and regulation.
“The extinction of the former SEF (Foreigners and Borders Service) greatly contributed to this situation,” he added, criticizing António Costa’s governments.
