LISBON — Mariana Mortágua has clearly expressed her refusal to debate housing issues with Nuno Melo instead of Luís Montenegro. Speaking to journalists at the Futurália event in Lisbon, Mortágua, a representative of the Bloco de Esquerda, emphasized, “I will not debate with Nuno Melo as a substitute for Luís Montenegro.”
On Wednesday, Mortágua asserted she was open to any debate and even challenged Luís Montenegro, the Prime Minister, for a discussion before the campaign concludes. However, she made it clear that during televised debates, she will only engage with Montenegro as the representative of the PSD/CDS coalition.
Joining Livre, the Bloco de Esquerda is one of the parties refusing to acknowledge Nuno Melo as the delegate for the social-democratic and centrist coalition.
Today at Futurália, the PAN party, another group the government coalition intends to debate with through Nuno Melo, stated it has yet to decide on its participation. The party is considering requesting a different representative from the list for the discussions with the social democrats and centrists.
Inês de Sousa Real, PAN’s spokesperson, criticized, “It makes no sense for Montenegro to hide behind Nuno Melo. He’s hiding from the Portuguese people.”
Mortágua called for coherence from the PS and PCP regarding the discussion framework proposed by the PSD/CDS-PP coalition. She remarked, “Parties must be consistent. If they express solidarity and believe a debate should include everyone, then they must stand by this decision—not just for now, but for the future.”
The PAN leader hopes for solidarity and a different approach from all democratic spectrum parties concerning the debate model advanced by the PSD/CDS-PP coalition.
Mortágua also indicated willingness to debate with centrists if the CDS-PP wishes to join, but reiterated that the core issue is Luís Montenegro’s representation of the coalition. “The representative doesn’t choose who to debate with or who to send, because that distorts democracy and its rules,” she argued.
Sousa Real also suggested that if the CDS-PP wants to participate in debates, it should contest elections independently, competing equally with other political forces.
Luís Montenegro, the President of the PSD and Prime Minister, expressed his astonishment at the opposition’s criticism of the coalition’s decision to split debate representation between himself and Nuno Melo. “It seems those hesitant to debate are the ones raising issues about the CDS president’s participation,” he remarked.
Rui Tavares, Livre’s spokesperson, also speaking at Futurália, rebuked the Prime Minister’s position, suggesting that for fairness and clarity, he should directly participate in the debates. Tavares committed, “I’ll be there on the day of the debate between Livre and AD to engage with Luís Montenegro, and it would be surprising if he decides not to appear.”
