“If there is anyone responsible today, alongside the years of PS governance, for the chaos in immigration and insecurity the country has reached, besides the Socialist Party government and José Luís Carneiro, it is the government of Luís Montenegro. That is the truth,” stated the Chega leader.
The Chega president addressed journalists ahead of a walkabout in Sabugal (Guarda district) during the campaign for the upcoming local elections on Sunday.
“See what Chega rejected from the PSD and see what the PSD rejected from Chega. Chega rejected minor formalities from the PSD that were poorly done or things that were not going to change anything, while the PSD rejected fundamental issues, decisive issues for immigration and security control,” he criticized.
André Ventura dismissed the accusation from the prime minister and PSD leader, who accused Chega of “talking a lot and doing little” on immigration and shedding “crocodile tears.”
“These are not crocodile tears, we tried to work in this area,” he indicated.
The Chega president argued that his party “proposed that immigrants entering Portugal should have health insurance to avoid what is happening, which is disorganized access to health services,” and suggested that “immigrants who arrived in Portugal, if granted Portuguese nationality and committed crimes, should be expelled, and should be required to work for five years before receiving benefits.”
“The PSD rejected all this, and now they come to say that we did nothing for immigration and security. No, Mr. Prime Minister, it was you who did not want to do anything for immigration and security in the country,” he accused.
Asked about the bills rejected by Chega, André Ventura explained that “bad bills must be rejected,” or “when they are made to cover up or pretend to do something, when nothing is done.”
“We had every condition to take good action in this matter, to restore the SEF, a police force that functions effectively, not like what has been created, which lacks resources and funding. We had the conditions to have a law that expelled foreigners who commit crimes. We had the conditions to have a law that, as I said, prevented people from accessing social security and social benefits before contributing, and the PSD wanted none of it,” he lamented.
On Tuesday in Albufeira, the PSD president accused Chega of “talking a lot and doing little” on immigration and shedding “crocodile tears,” urging voters not to believe in a candidate who has been “jumping from place to place.”
