“Just think about it, if there was no commitment, Chega would not have voted in favor of the law, right?” stated André Ventura.
André Ventura was speaking to journalists in Faro during a brief walkabout, moving swiftly, accompanied by the party’s candidate for the council and parliamentary leader, Pedro Pinto.
“I regret very much that the Government, in what seems to be evident, since Chega wouldn’t have approved this rule otherwise, did so because it thinks controlling immigration is important. I am sorry that the Government, on one hand, says it is not committed, and on the other, states it will negotiate with Chega the limit on abuses in social benefits,” he remarked.
The Chega leader accused the Government of not knowing “what it is doing in this matter” and being “disoriented.”
“It makes no sense, it’s inconceivable, that an immigrant comes to Portugal and has more benefits than people who have been working here for years,” he argued.
“Now, I ask, does the Government agree with this or not? Apparently, it did, now it says it doesn’t, why?” he questioned.
When asked whether he believes the issue is the Government’s reluctance to admit that such a commitment was made, Ventura affirmed.
“It seems evident to me. When we had to vote on a motion of confidence that caused elections and brought down the Government, we did it. I think nobody doubts Chega’s courage or that it’s a party with convictions. Now, I find it regrettable that the Government seems to want to control immigration one day and retreat from it the next,” he criticized.
Later, at a small rally at the end of the walkabout, the Chega president contended that the Government “again contradicted itself” when it denied having made a commitment with Chega.
“In truth, if that’s the case, it’s our problem for trusting once again in someone we shouldn’t have trusted. But we are used to that with this Government,” he added.
During the morning, André Ventura stated that Chega voted in favor of the new foreigner law version due to a Government commitment to later limit immigrants’ access to social support through new legislation.
Hours later, the Minister of the Presidency denied that the Government had a commitment with Chega to ban or limit immigrants’ access to social support.
