Rui Tavares, spokesman for the Livre party, emphasized on Tuesday that he was informed he had visited Iran, a place he claims to have “never set foot in,” during a face-off with Chega’s leader, André Ventura.
“I just learned that I apparently visited Iran, despite never having set foot there, from an interlocutor who has lost their head (and credibility, if they ever thought they had it)”, Tavares wrote on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter).
The comment was directed at a statement made by André Ventura during the legislative election debate, which was marked by mutual accusations, particularly on the topic of immigration.
“I don’t envy the fact-checkers tonight”, Tavares added, a sentiment he had expressed during the confrontation.
“If I were to debunk every one of Ventura’s falsehoods in these debates, I wouldn’t be doing anything else”, he remarked.
Acabei de ser informado que fui ao Irão, onde nunca pus os pés, por um interlocutor de cabeça (e credibilidade, se alguma vez pensou tê-la) perdida. Não invejo o trabalho dos verificadores de factos esta noite.
— rui tavares (@ruitavares) April 8, 2025
The first of a series of 27 head-to-head debates between political forces represented in parliament took place yesterday. These debates are scheduled to conclude three weeks later, on April 28, with the final debate between Social Democratic Party (PSD) leader Luís Montenegro and Socialist Party (PS) Secretary-General Pedro Nuno Santos.
In addition to these, two further debates will be held on RTP involving all parties, whether they have parliamentary representation or not, on May 6 and 8 respectively. Another debate, organized by the radio stations Antena 1, Observador, Renascença, and TSF, will take place on the morning of May 5. This debate will feature leaders of the parties represented in the Assembly of the Republic and will occur during the official campaign period, which runs from May 4 to 16.
