On Tuesday, Paulo Raimundo humorously remarked that the menu for a lunch with former social-democratic leaders featured Brussels sprouts, German sausages, and a thin soup, reflecting the austerity of the ‘troika’ era. Today, he added the dessert that had slipped his mind.
The call by former PSD leader and ex-Prime Minister Passos Coelho for the party to maintain its “reformist tradition” was likely the dessert at Tuesday’s lunch, commented the communist leader during a walking event in Matosinhos, in Porto district.
“That was the dessert I had forgotten. There was the menu, and then there was the dessert. The dessert was that [the call for reformism],” he stated.
For Paulo Raimundo, Passos Coelho’s appeal for a reformist government translates to “reviving the policies that the people rejected in 2015.”
Before the lunch with several former PSD leaders, in commemoration of the party’s 51st anniversary at the national headquarters, Passos Coelho advocated for a “genuinely reformist spirit at the service” of stability.
During the Matosinhos event, Paulo Raimundo received words of encouragement and started with a stop for coffee.
The PCP General Secretary, holding a cup, remarked that unlike the notion of ‘no free lunches,’ there were also ‘no free coffees,’ referencing the PSD leaders’ event.
“Coffee is expensive, but since Alfredo Maia [CDU’s lead candidate for Porto] is paying because I didn’t bring any money, this will be very cheap for me,” he noted.
However, in the end, the coffees were on the house, as the establishment offered the traditional ‘bicas.’
“Many thanks,” said Paulo Raimundo, continuing on a brief walk, distributing leaflets and receiving the compliment “As a matter of fact, he’s handsome” from a fish seller.
To the press, he reiterated that the CDU, comprising the PCP and the Ecologist Party “The Greens,” focuses on “the problems of people’s lives” and therefore is “never out of the political game.”
“Those who are a bit out of the political game are those who spend hours discussing form without discussing content,” he commented.
When questioned about PS’s proposal for zero VAT on the food basket, Paulo Raimundo criticized Pedro Nuno Santos for multiplying promises.
Referring to the reduced price of gas cylinders, Raimundo stated that the PS could have voted alongside the CDU when “that measure was considered.”
“In this case, it was two months ago. It wasn’t five years ago, nor twenty,” he pointed out.
At the end of the event, he addressed around two hundred supporters accompanying him, noting that today was sunny, while a year ago at the same place it rained, yet the supporters remained steadfast.
“We don’t fail. Rain or shine,” he declared.
