Marques Mendes, a former minister and former leader of the PSD, spoke to journalists before visiting Futurália at Parque das Nações in Lisbon, an event where he was surrounded by numerous young university students.
When asked if he intends to maintain his public engagements during the campaign period for the legislative elections on May 18, the former social-democratic leader confirmed that he does. He argued that citizens distinguish between different electoral acts.
“That is why I am here today with the young people and why I have other initiatives planned for the coming days. I admit that the campaign may be less media-centric during the legislative campaign period, but that doesn’t mean door-to-door activities won’t exist — and that’s the part I won’t stop doing, as is normal,” he stated.
When questioned if he plans to stand alongside the PSD leader, Luís Montenegro, in the legislative elections campaign, the presidential candidate dismissed this possibility entirely.
“A presidential candidate, with their status, should not participate in party campaigns. I hope to one day have the support of the PSD, if they decide so, but my candidacy is much more than that,” he asserted.
Marques Mendes then pointed out that he has received support from “completely independent people, such as the rector of the University of Coimbra.”
“In other words, we are not talking about party candidacies; we are talking about presidential candidacies, which can have the support of parties and many independents,” he explained.
In statements to the press, Marques Mendes was confronted with recent warnings from the Head of State, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, about the risk of candidates or potential presidential candidates commenting on post-legislative election governability scenarios.
Marques Mendes denied feeling offended by Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and even agreed with the statements made by the President.
“I even agree with everything the President said; we should not be creating scenarios about post-May 18 at this moment. Therefore, I agree with everything the President said, and there is no issue with that,” he emphasized.
In this context, Marques Mendes noted that “in the last 40, 50 years, there have been presidential candidacies for future elections with prior legislative elections — and even with Professor Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.” He added, “Professor Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa was a candidate following legislative elections [in October 2015], but there were also candidates in the field during those elections.”
When asked if the overlap of legislative, municipal, and presidential elections benefits some candidates more than others, he declined to comment.
“If I were still at SIC doing political commentary, I would answer that question and analyze it in more depth. But that phase of my life is over, period. Regarding everything else the President said, I agree with what he said,” he reiterated.
During his visit to Futurália, Marques Mendes was accompanied by the young PSD deputies Gabriela Cabilhas and Eva Brás Pinho. He spoke with hundreds of university students, wore a straw hat from ISEL (Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Lisboa), and lingered a bit longer at the stand of the Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon, perhaps due to it being his academic field.
In the early part of his tour, he met with the Minister of Education, Fernando Alexandre, and the economist João Duque.
