“I am concerned about the detachment of people from politics, which is reflected by the rise, in this case, of a far-right party [Chega], and therefore, this rise of that far-right party should make us reflect on why this happened, why there is this detachment of people from politics?” stated Carlos Moedas to the Lusa agency, on the sidelines of the 630th-anniversary ceremony of the Lisbon Fire Brigade Regiment.
Despite his expressed concern, the PSD mayor asserted that the outcome of Sunday’s legislative elections was “clear”: “People want this Government [PSD/CDS-PP] and, above all, they want this prime minister [Luís Montenegro (PSD)], and therefore, it is a very clear victory for the AD.”
The AD won Sunday’s legislative elections with 89 deputies, while both PS and Chega tied in the number of elected members to the parliament, with 58 each. IL managed to secure nine deputies, Livre six, CDU (PCP/PEV) three, and BE, PAN, and JPP one each. These results do not yet include voters residing abroad, whose participation and choices will be known on May 28.
“At this moment, I think that the Portuguese have looked towards stability, they wanted stability, and they wanted this prime minister, and rightly so, and therefore, it’s a great victory for the AD in today’s political context, with the growth of extremes, but in this case, the far-right, and so now the country can have that stability,” declared the social-democrat Carlos Moedas.
Regarding the country’s governability, since the AD did not achieve an absolute majority, the PSD mayor pointed to the responsibility of the elected parties, particularly PS and Chega, asserting that the rules of the democratic system require dialogue between the governing party and those in opposition.
“There must be responsibility in relation to what the people wanted, which is this Government, with the programmatic basis of this Government, which should be respected by others,” he emphasized, noting that all European countries have experienced situations without absolute majorities.
Carlos Moedas also highlighted that the AD increased the number of deputies in these elections, reaching 89: “Now it has a clear majority, and from there, the parties must take on their responsibilities, whether it’s the Socialist Party for its history as a founding party of democracy, which will have to rethink […], or Chega, which also has to consider its purpose.”
Regarding Chega, the social-democrat mayor emphasized the AD’s “very clear” position concerning “not forming alliances with the extremes,” stating that the PSD has been “the party of moderation, the party that has brought stability and moderation to the Portuguese, which is what they want.”
In anticipation of the upcoming local elections, scheduled between September and October this year, Carlos Moedas pointed out that “the local elections are very different from legislative elections, local elections are about work, they are about what people see, the mayors, their proximity, their ability to solve problems, and that is how mayors are usually evaluated.”
“At this moment, I am not a candidate [for the next local elections], I am the mayor. If I am, I will be glad to answer more questions about that,” he indicated.
Carlos Moedas quer mudar nome do Parque Tejo para Parque Papa Francisco
