“The expression of the prime minister today, saying when questioned by journalists that he will govern a little for both sides, a little for the PS side, a little for the Chega side, is yet another betrayal of the vote cast by the Portuguese on the 18th”, stated André Ventura.
At a press conference at the party headquarters in Lisbon, the Chega leader argued that “the Portuguese did not vote a little for the PS, which is why they gave it some of the worst results in its history” to that party and “said they do not want the Socialist Party”.
“If Luís Montenegro does not understand this, he will have to understand it the hard way in the coming months. Chega did not come to make deals like others have done for 50 years, Chega will not make agreements like others have made with place arrangements or wrong policies over the last 50 years”, he emphasized.
André Ventura asserted that Chega will not “turn a blind eye or ignore corruption, immigration, illicit enrichment, dependency on subsidies, the increase of posts in the State, just to ensure stability“.
“The prime minister will decide whether he wants to do a little for Chega or a little for the PS. But it is wrong, because the Portuguese population wanted a change, proposed this change, and voted for this change on the 18th. Ignoring them is to ignore what is most profound in democracy, the vote, the choice, the legitimate choice of the population”, he argued.
The prime minister claimed today a central position in the Portuguese political scene and predicted a Government “hovering”, sometimes more to the Left, other times more to the Right, “but always forward”.
At the beginning of the first Council of Ministers of the XXV Constitutional Government, which was completed today with the swearing-in of the secretaries of State, the executive took a family photo at the official residence of São Bento in a relaxed atmosphere.
When questioned by journalists whether the negotiations will lean more to the left or more to the right – meaning more with the PS or more with Chega -, Luís Montenegro responded: “As we are central, we go a little to one side and a little to the other”.
When asked if this is the way he intends to govern, the prime minister provided a slightly more comprehensive answer.
“Exactly, always with this very versatile approach of rising, falling, hovering, to the Left, to the Right, and to the center, but always forward”, he stated.
