Speaking to journalists in Moita, Setúbal district, before a local election campaign event, the leader of Chega stated that Mariana Mortágua “sought to portray herself as a victim before the country,” adding that the strategy “did not go very well, at least judging by the people’s reaction, which was one of great indignation.”
André Ventura also accused the Left Bloc politician of wanting “to make a scene, thousands of kilometers from here, when the country is facing serious difficulties.”
“I believe that in Gaza there is insecurity, that in Gaza there is a lack of food, that in Gaza there are people who are suffering. But the same is true here in Setúbal, here in Moita, in Lisbon, in Sintra, in Porto, in the Algarve, also in the Alentejo. Mariana Mortágua is a deputy of the nation, she is not a Palestinian deputy,” he argued.
The Chega leader also criticized the reception of the four activists who were part of the Global Sumud humanitarian flotilla by the Secretary of State for Portuguese Communities, Emídio Sousa, upon their arrival in Lisbon after being detained by Israel.
“Even more ridiculous, if you can add to all this, is after such a farce, we have the Secretary of State going to the airport to receive these people. All that’s left is for us one day to welcome terrorists at the airport or Santa Apolónia station. That’s all we need. ETA guys, Hamas guys on the boat, and we send a government member,” he criticized.
Representing the Government, the activists were received upon their arrival at the airport on Sunday by the Secretary of State for Portuguese Communities, Emídio Sousa.
