Catarina Martins made these statements during a debate organized by the Civic Front regarding “The Role of the President of the Republic in Combating Corruption,” when asked about the prevalence of the values of a Democratic Rule of Law.
Addressing the audience, she added, “I don’t believe we are at a point where this is at risk, because I am convinced that those of us here, who have ideas, where everyone is different, would also gladly vote for Mickey Mouse, if such a possibility were presented to us. That said, the problem is that it is not with electoral games or calculations that we combat ideas that are growing in our society.”
Catarina Martins continued her reasoning by adding that “the idea that everything is electoral arithmetic and that it is better for certain people not to present themselves, because it could concentrate votes on someone unknown, is very distant from people’s lives.”
“I am sure that if there were no Leftist candidacies, and I humbly think I have done my part, we would be discussing burqas instead of the labor package. And if we spent the campaign discussing burqas instead of the labor package, then indeed our country would go down a slippery slope that I don’t know where it would end,” emphasized the candidate.
Catarina Martins stated that “many times this idea that there is any moderation in a regime center that has not responded to people” and that everyone “has to accept as being the lesser evil in face of another danger, in reality, has only opened the way to another danger.”
“No matter how many electoral games we have, no matter how much last-minute tacticism there is, these ideas only grow. I think, in fact, that unfortunately, the rest of Europe has given us proof that this is so. We are now learning to deal with the phenomenon and I am trying a different path,” she added.
Catarina Martins concluded on the subject of the rise of the far-right in Portugal, saying there is “a new path from what has happened in the rest of Europe that is not working,” underscoring that “the path is indeed to go to the fight.”
