“It is very clear that there will be a candidacy of radicalism, led by André Ventura, and that there already is, and will be, a candidacy representing the space of moderation, which is the candidacy of Luís Marques Mendes. I believe this is a signal that is easily understood by analyzing both candidacies and their protagonists,” argued Sebastião Bugalho.
The social democrat spoke as a member of Luís Marques Mendes’s political campaign committee at a hotel in Lisbon, closed to the press, while the president of Chega, André Ventura, was presenting his candidacy for Belém.
Stating that he democratically salutes Ventura’s candidacy, Bugalho rejected any impact on Marques Mendes’s candidacy, asserting that “it will not be affected at all by someone who represents other political spaces.”
“Listening to Luís Marques Mendes’s message over the past few months, it is easily understood that André Ventura could not have the same message, electoral base, or ideas, and therefore, they are not competing for the same space; they are competing for different spaces,” he defended.
The social democrat argued that Marques Mendes is contesting “the space of moderation, common sense, experience,” with “many independent personalities surrounding him,” while André Ventura will depict the “candidacy of radicalism, more individualistic, perhaps more solitary, representing another political space.”
Luís Marques Mendes, he defended, “is someone who is not a faction leader, is someone who has never had a sectarian view of Portuguese politics.”
“Furthermore, his frequent presence in civic life, be it on television or through his contribution to public service, shows this, he is not a faction leader, and that’s why he will be, and will continue to be, regardless of who appears, the candidate of moderation,” he justified.
The political committee of Luís Marques Mendes’s presidential candidacy met for the first time today. This campaign body is chaired by the historical founder of the PSD, Francisco Pinto Balsemão, who was absent for health reasons but sent a message to those present, which Lusa accessed.
In that message, the former prime minister expressed confidence in a victory for Luís Marques Mendes but warned that it “will not be easy,” in a scenario of “candidates for all tastes” and “saturation of very close elections.”
The political committee for Marques Mendes includes social democrats Sebastião Bugalho, José Eduardo Martins, Rita Marques Guedes, Teresa Patrício Gouveia, Carlos Encarnação, Miguel Poiares Maduro, Arlindo Cunha, and António Pinto Leite.
Diogo Feio, of the CDS-PP, and Francisco Mendes da Silva, (former centrist militant, currently independent), also participate in this body.
The list of independents consists of André Sampaio, son of former President Jorge Sampaio, Tiago Duarte, David Lopes, Carla Quevedo, José Gomes Mendes, Afonso Reis Cabral, Alberico Fernandes, Raquel Vaz Pinto, and João Perestrello.
