“I suggest you read it. It’s one of those documents that’s ‘I like what’s good, I don’t like what’s bad’. For God’s sake, it’s not a solution to absolutely anything,” criticized João Cotrim Figueiredo during a press conference at a Lisbon hotel, where the first meeting of his political strategy committee, titled “Horizonte 2031”, was held.
The presidential candidate, supported by IL, was responding to the health pact presented by António José Seguro to Chega leader André Ventura during a televised debate. Seguro indicated his intention to share it with all party leaders.
João Cotrim Figueiredo argued that a President of the Republic should not initiate writing pacts, asserting that this responsibility belongs to political parties and governments, “who are responsible for making executive decisions and legislating,” while the President’s role is to “create conditions for this to happen”.
“And I’ve said several times: pacts are only good when you know where you want to go. A pact for something meaningless or, worse, even pointless… I think it’s not worth it,” he stated.
Among his criticisms of the health pact presented by António José Seguro, Cotrim Figueiredo highlighted the document’s emphasis on the necessity of digitizing the health system, questioning “how exactly does that solve the problems” faced daily in Portugal.
“Are we going to have more doctors? Better organization of emergency services? Improved surgical capacity? The problem isn’t there,” he remarked, emphasizing that he is the only presidential candidate with a published proposal on the subject, referring to the health reform law bases presented by IL in 2023, when João Cotrim Figueiredo led the party.
João Cotrim Figueiredo spoke to the press after the meeting of his political strategy committee, which includes several personalities who have declared support for his candidacy, such as former Constitutional Court vice-president Gonçalo de Almeida Ribeiro, former PSD deputy Liliana Reis, his national representative José Miguel Júdice, and former IL deputy Bernardo Blanco.
This political strategy committee is preparing an electoral manifesto titled “Compromisso Cotrim 2026-2031”, set to be presented on Sunday, and aims to “gather political opinions” to determine which issues require more focus and identify the missing contacts or instruments needed for “faster growth”.
The presidential candidate expressed no surprise regarding a poll released on Monday placing him in fifth place with 12.6% of the votes, approximately 2% behind André Ventura, emphasizing “that it was the first of a series” that will demonstrate his candidacy’s growth.
“I have been saying from the start that I will make it to the second round. Initially, it was met with some derision and disbelief, but now people are beginning to believe. There are indeed five candidates for the second round, and they will increasingly be seen closely in terms of voting intentions,” he predicted.
Gonçalo Almeida de Ribeiro, former TC vice-president and coordinator of the political strategy committee for the candidacy, also addressed the media to highlight his support for Cotrim Figueiredo, stating that he believes Figueiredo is “by far the best representation of the qualities a President of the Republic should possess”.
“He is someone who knows the political system well, is a reformist spirit and an optimist, a man of character,” he praised.
