“We do not have any municipality. Winning a municipality will be symbolic for Chega, but that alone will not make it a victorious night for us,” stated André Ventura, speaking to journalists in Moita, Setúbal district.
Ventura expressed confidence that Chega will secure municipalities and parish councils, but refrained from setting specific targets.
“It’s not for me to tell voters how many municipalities I want. It’s the voters, the Portuguese, who will tell us how many officials they trust to give us a mandate,” he stated, emphasizing that the test will be to discern whether the party’s principles have local resonance.
The leader of Chega reiterated his ambition to surpass the 208,000 votes garnered in the 2021 local elections, stating this would be “a great victory from that perspective.”
“But we don’t have victories that are half-defeats. We genuinely aim to win municipalities and councils. If we don’t win any municipality, for example, across the entire country, it is obviously a defeat. Even if we have a million votes, not winning a municipality is a defeat,” he conceded.
Addressing his candidates’ need to “do things differently,” Ventura remarked that “those who take risks sometimes make mistakes, sometimes achieve great merits, sometimes win, sometimes lose,” emphasizing that “cleaning must start at home.”
At the start of the second week of the local election campaign, Chega’s national tour began in Moita with a street gathering alongside the mayoral candidate Alfredo Vieira.
“We are currently in a ‘sprint’ mode for victory, seeking to achieve a significant win in the local elections,” he asserted.
On a day of intensified campaigning, with five scheduled events, Ventura was in Lisbon by late morning to join a street gathering with the capital’s mayoral candidate in the Chelas area.
Speaking to journalists, he urged Lisbon residents to give “an opportunity” to Bruno Mascarenhas.
Asked whether multiple right-wing candidacies could benefit the left and hinder Carlos Moedas’ re-election (PSD/CDS/IL’s candidate), Ventura observed that “if it hinders, it’s because they governed poorly.”
“Frankly, PSD and PS are the same. What right-wing party? What right-wing party says Lisbon needs more immigration? What right-wing party fails to acknowledge severe security inadequacies and the need for more police support? What right-wing party fails in urban cleanliness and hygiene? What matters to people isn’t whether it’s right-wing or left-wing; what matters is governing well,” he emphasized.
Ventura expressed skepticism about both Carlos Moedas and socialist Alexandra Leitão, claiming neither knows how to govern or can govern Lisbon effectively.
Subsequently, Chega’s campaign moved to Sintra for a private lunch with the lead candidate for the municipality and other party candidates in Mem Martins, Ventura’s birthplace.
Speaking before entering the restaurant, Ventura described winning this municipality as “certainly one of the largest victories” for the party on Sunday, as well as a historic achievement.
Regarding the potential parliamentary departure of Rita Matias and other candidate deputies, should they be elected as mayors, Ventura said it would necessitate a reorganization within the parliamentary group but considered it a “good problem.”
Candidate Matias stated that Sintra could serve as “a testing ground” and expressed the desire for residents and the entire country to focus on the governance that Chega plans to introduce, envisioning a future under Ventura’s leadership.
