The leader of Chega, André Ventura, admitted on Thursday to having made a “mistake” by confusing the Bürgerfest in Germany with a “hamburger festival.” He justified this by criticizing the President of the Republic for what he called repeated “trips at taxpayers’ expense,” and reiterated his stance that Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa should not attend the event.
“I make mistakes just like everyone else. And when I make a mistake – as I had the opportunity to see yesterday and correct it – this mistake stems from the fact that the President of the Republic has been a king and master of absolutely unnecessary trips at taxpayers’ expense”, Ventura explained to journalists during a visit to Agroglobal in Santarém.
Feeling troubled, the leader of Chega explained that he also makes errors and, when this happens, he acknowledges them but reaffirmed his opposition to the head of state’s trip to Germany.
“This error is because the President of the Republic has been doing what none have done, which is multiplying trips at taxpayers’ expense, paid by our salaries,” he justified.
For Ventura, the President of the Republic “should make the minimum possible trips” paid “at taxpayers’ expense” – even if invited by the German counterpart.
“This President of the Republic has already made more than 1,550 trips at taxpayers’ expense. He has made five more trips than the previous Presidents of the Republic, namely Cavaco Silva. It’s a theft of our taxes”, he accused. “But the gentlemen journalists are concerned whether it’s about hamburgers or citizenship.”
“Instead of being worried about Chega’s mistakes, they should be concerned with how many trips President Marcelo made with our taxes that you gentlemen have never decided to scrutinize,” he insisted, refusing to apologize to the Head of State. “It’s the President of the Republic who should apologize to us for the trips he makes at the expense of our taxes and shouldn’t be making.”
It should be recalled that the Chega president accused the head of state of going to Germany for a hamburger festival, referring to the Bürgerfest initiative, which is actually a Citizens’ Festival in Berlin.
This accusation against the President of the Republic was made by André Ventura on social media on Wednesday, after Chega in parliament voted against Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa’s trip to Germany for an official visit, from today until Saturday, at the invitation of his German counterpart.
The president of Chega accused the head of State of traveling to Germany for a hamburger festival, referring to the Bürgerfest initiative, which is actually a Citizens’ Festival in Berlin.
Lusa | 06:53 – 11/09/2025
[News updated at 16:19]
