“Once upon a time, there was a Government that, in eleven months, did more than the PS did in eight years: the PS stagnated the country, paralyzed the country, at best managed the country, but Luís Montenegro and the AD did not join the Government to just manage Portugal; they came to change Portugal, and therefore we must continue the change,” urged the Minister of State and Foreign Affairs during a rally at the Secondary School of Paredes in the district of Porto.
Rangel then referred to a phrase he attributed to the AD’s head of the list in Leiria, the Minister for Youth, Margarida Balseiro Lopes, which he said encapsulated AD’s governance.
“We are not the party of correct accounts like Mário Centeno, Pedro Nuno Santos, or António Costa: we are the party of fair accounts because we have correct accounts but also strive for social justice,” he asserted.
He cited the example of teachers, stating that the PS claimed there was not enough money to stabilize schools and dignify teachers’ careers.
“What this Government has demonstrated is that it is possible to dignify teachers’ careers and keep schools running, ending the term with a surplus of 0.7%,” he pointed out.
Rangel argued that the AD’s work “was interrupted, not completed,” urging voters in the May 18 legislative elections to allow them to continue governing.
Earlier, the PSD candidate for the Paredes City Council, Mário Rocha, expressed his ambition to reclaim the municipality that has been with the PS since 2017. He announced that he would run in coalition with CDS-PP, also gaining support from civic and independent movements.
The candidate promised that if elected, there would be a 5% reduction in IRS in the municipality and free school meals up to the 12th grade, estimating a savings of 4,000 euros per student by the age of 18.
[News updated at 18h43]
