During the opening address at the PSD/CDS-PP parliamentary session in Évora, Hugo Soares expressed disappointment over recent accusations by some commentators labeling him as “the gravedigger of ‘no means no’,” following parliamentary negotiations with Chega, particularly on immigration laws.
“Regarding ‘no means no,’ I will not spend much time reiterating what we have consistently stated during and outside electoral campaigns: we said and reiterate that we would not form a pre-electoral coalition government with Chega and affirmed ‘no means no,’ we will not govern in a post-electoral coalition with Chega,” he stated.
As for parliamentary dialogue with the party led by André Ventura, Hugo Soares highlighted that it existed in the previous legislature, saying, “So ‘no means no’ actually fell two years ago; in the previous legislature, I publicly stated that I spoke and negotiated several times with Chega and several times with the Socialist Party,” he countered.
The PSD parliamentary leader argued that “formal parliamentary majorities” are distinct from engaging in democratic conversations with all parliamentary parties, reaffirming the commitment to communicate with all political parties that have parliamentary representation.
Hugo Soares emphasized that both he and the Prime Minister, when asked—prior to or after elections—who they would govern with, consistently responded “with everyone.”
He remarked, “I said several times: we will talk with the PS, a founding party of our democracy, we will talk with Chega, as it is the second-largest political force with parliamentary representation,” extending this willingness to IL and “even to the far-left,” if those parties were interested.
For the PSD parliamentary leader, the past few weeks have been definitive regarding this dialogue with various parties.
“We facilitated a tax reduction for working people with the approval of the PS and Chega. We established a Foreign and Borders Police Unit with the PS and Chega’s approval,” he exemplified, praising both parties for adopting ideas from the AD that were previously rejected, particularly the new special unit.
On the subject that has dominated the first month since the second Government of Luís Montenegro took office—immigration—the PSD parliamentary leader claimed that the changes introduced were not due to “ideological complexes, absurd security reasons, or political positioning.”
“The primary reasons that drive us to regulate immigration issues in Portugal are purely humanitarian (…) We cannot accept that Portugal allows entry to anyone and that they come to live in poverty or without conditions,” he asserted.
Hugo Soares admitted that PSD and CDS-PP genuinely intend to “tighten and regulate the entry of immigrants into Portugal,” despite acknowledging that the Portuguese economy “needs the immigration flow, whether in the more or less qualified professions.”
“It is important for the country to know that we need to continue allowing immigrants to enter. But the country knows, we know; only a few have yet to realize that we must know who they are, how they come, where they are, and how they are in our national territory,” he stated.
The PSD parliamentary leader also dismissed criticisms of the current majority being “a blocking force,” countering with the approval of 18 requests for minister auditions in parliament in the first month alone.
“If we were forces of obstruction or if we behaved in the opposition as they did, let me tell you something: there would never be so many ministers appearing in Parliament as there were during our governments,” he noted.
Hugo Soares also pledged to continue holding decentralized parliamentary sessions across the country, in the Azores (following ones already held in Madeira), and even, as a new initiative, abroad, “among Portuguese communities.”
