Following the announcement of an agreement between Israel and Hamas to end the war in Gaza, PS leader José Luís Carneiro welcomed the “vital principle of agreement” for a ceasefire, emphasizing the urgency for a humanitarian corridor and the release of all hostages, highlighting the importance of recognizing the Palestinian state.
In Montijo, Livre spokesperson Rui Tavares also welcomed the ceasefire but expressed concern that the agreement is “very biased against the Palestinians,” stressing the need for continued vigilance.
In Viana do Castelo, Iniciativa Liberal leader Mariana Leitão praised the agreement, stating that diplomatic negotiation is more crucial to resolving the conflict than pro-Palestine activism.
Chega president André Ventura highlighted the need for peace in the Middle East without “accepting terrorists’ blackmail.” “We need peace, peace in Russia, Ukraine, and the Middle East, and this peace must be pursued, no matter the cost, and must involve telling terrorists we will never accept their blackmail and pressure,” he stated.
On the day the government presented its budget proposal for the next year, the topic also dominated the day. André Ventura, on Wednesday night, accused the prime minister of advancing the budget presentation, initially scheduled for Friday, to divert attention from the Spinumviva case, urging Luís Montenegro to govern for the country rather than elections.
Today, a spokesperson for PAN criticized the government’s decision to bring forward the budget presentation, arguing that it “should not serve as an electoral propaganda tool” or divert attention.
From Tallinn, the President of the Republic entered the fray, denying that moving the budget presentation to today was a political “maneuver,” interpreting it as the government’s attempt to avoid it being “overshadowed” by the end of the election campaign.
During the campaign, Rui Tavares urged the PS to engage in the specific stage of the budget, even if it abstains in general, without revealing his party’s voting intentions, while André Ventura stated that Chega “will not tolerate” an increase in fuel taxes.
Other comments on the budget were made by party leaders, outside the electoral agenda.
On a day when PSD leader and prime minister Luís Montenegro only has campaign actions at night, the PCP secretary-general stated that forming a coalition with the PS in Lisbon would have betrayed CDU voters, arguing that the capital needs an alternative to defeat not only Carlos Moedas but also his policies.
In statements to journalists during a rally on Avenida da Igreja in Lisbon, accompanied by CDU’s top candidate for the capital’s City Hall, João Ferreira, Paulo Raimundo emphasized that by rejecting a coalition with the PS, the PCP did not want to “cover up for a force that was complicit, co-responsible,” and was “neck-deep” in Carlos Moedas’s management.
In Porto, the socialist leader assumed it as a “fundamental political objective” to win the cities of Porto and Lisbon, believing that socialist Manuel Pizarro will bring cosmopolitan leadership to assert Porto in the global context.
