Luís Marques Mendes expressed optimism about the current legislative term, stating, “I think the legislature is starting better than the previous one, much better, because at least there are bridges of understanding, sometimes with one party, sometimes with another, and that is positive.”
He added, “It is also positive that, at the start of this legislature, there are already decisions of great importance, of social importance, such as support for pensioners and retirees, which I hope and wish will not only happen in election years but every year in the future.”
Marques Mendes was speaking to journalists in Sousel, Portalegre district, during a luncheon conference part of the first edition of the Armando Varela Academy, a political event promoted by the Portalegre Social Democratic Youth.
The presidential candidate highlighted that the current legislature is “starting better” than the previous one, recalling the upcoming proposal for corporate tax reduction, which “already has its approval in principle guaranteed,” as a “positive” sign.
“There are also more contentious issues, especially concerning immigration, but I emphasize what I said a few days ago: the most important law of all these is the nationality law,” he cautioned.
The former PSD leader noted that the postponement of the approval of the law to September “is a good sign,” indicating “openness to dialogue,” stressing that it is a law that “requires a lot of dialogue.”
“It is a law that needs a qualified majority,” he emphasized.
When asked by journalists about the extraordinary pension supplement granted “on the eve” of the municipal elections, Luís Marques Mendes played down its timing, considering it a measure that demonstrates “social justice.”
“Some say it’s electoralism; that’s an opinion. Honestly, I think it is more about social justice,” he stated.
Regarding a possible presidential candidacy of Sampaio da Nóvoa, Marques Mendes simply said that all candidates are “welcome.”
“I have a very simple, very clear, and very consistent rule: I greet all candidates,” he said.
On the topic of demolitions of precarious houses in a neighborhood in Loures, Lisbon district, the presidential candidate expressed that “he wished everything had been different,” arguing that “a roof should have first been arranged” for the people before the demolitions took place.
Finally, Mendes thanked Portuguese pilot Miguel Oliveira for supporting his candidacy, considering it “a great privilege.”
The Armando Varela Academy aims to pay posthumous tribute to Armando Varela, a prominent PSD figure in that district, who died on March 19, 2023, at the age of 57, following a motorbike accident.
Varela was the president of the municipality from 2005 to 2017 and also served as a councilor in the Portalegre City Council and president of the PSD District Political Commission (2016 – 2019).
