“The prime minister has poorly managed this situation,” stated André Ventura in Leiria, arguing that Luís Montenegro should have been present in all districts where the largest fires occurred.
When questioned about the advice that politicians should not visit operational theaters, André Ventura remarked that his discussions with local leaders did not “directly hinder the operational theater.”
“People need to feel leadership. They need to know there is someone who cares for them and wants to understand what is going wrong. A leader must be on the ground to comprehend what is happening. No one leads from a closed office,” emphasized the leader of Chega.
Addressing Luís Montenegro, Ventura advised: “Leave your office in Lisbon and come to the districts affected by the fires to speak with the people.”
“Is there a risk? Yes. Are there people who respond badly? Yes. Are there people who react poorly? Yes. But that’s what being a politician is about. Come and find out what is going wrong to act and signal to the country with courage, confidence, and firmness,” he urged.
Discussing the government’s measures to address the damages caused by the fires, Ventura described them as “rather insignificant.”
“The prime minister chose to patch up a crisis he managed poorly. He decided to do the same as he did post-pandemic, with hospitals in crisis, and with the police forces: making bureaucratic, bland communications to the country that contained no substance,” he criticized.
According to Ventura, the announced measures will not resolve people’s lives and serve as “patches placed over wounds, not to treat them, but to pretend that something was done.”
“If the prime minister wants to do something after the disaster that was crisis management, I would say supporting the inquiry committee [on the fires requested today by Chega] would be a good omen,” he challenged.
