“We have marshaled the best resources within our structure for this battle, and the best we have is mostly in our Government. If there’s one thing we will do in this electoral campaign, it is to account for what we have achieved and explain what we are going to do. And who better to explain this to the people than the key players who have been involved and are expected to continue their work,” asserted Luís Montenegro in his opening remarks at the PSD National Council.
During this speech, open to the media, Montenegro deliberately announced, one by one, the top candidates for the 22 electoral districts, all welcomed with applause, including eleven of the 17 ministers from the current PSD/CDS-PP executive.
“What the Portuguese people are wondering at home is: Is it worth changing the Government? To what? Or is it worth strengthening this Government? For what? This is the question each Portuguese will ponder,” he reflected.
Montenegro argued that during the campaign for the anticipated legislative elections on May 18, those advocating change must explain its nature “and why they are more qualified to promote it.”
“What is expected from us is to explain to the people why by strengthening support for this Government they can expect even better results than what we have already achieved in these 11 months,” he stated.
The PSD president pledged to “go from town to town, engaging citizen by citizen, in debate by debate, meeting by meeting” to elucidate the objectives of the Government’s policies.
“We will explain this in health, education, housing, mobility, economy, finance, taxes, we will explain this in environment, sustainability, in all areas, in security, in immigration,” he elaborated.
The Prime Minister assured that the Government will not “shirk responsibility,” but promised “a high-spirited but cheerful campaign.”
“A campaign that resonates with the Portuguese people. A campaign connected with the Portuguese youth. A campaign linked with the workforce of the Portuguese workers. A campaign embraced by Portuguese pensioners and retirees,” he said.
In his speech, Montenegro also referenced the Democratic Alliance, which last year named the coalition with CDS-PP and PPM, noting that the monarchists will now be excluded from the lists, with the PSD Secretary-General reserving the designation for forthcoming days.
“With this Democratic Alliance, we will elevate our values and our mission to Portugal with our PSD,” Montenegro declared.
Names were approved at the PSD National Political Commission meeting on Wednesday and will be voted on at the party’s National Council tonight.
Notícias ao Minuto with Lusa | 19:26 – 26/03/2025
