“I am pleased to see that the top priority I outlined, which will be the focus of my first mandate, is currently garnering the most support and contributions,” stated António José Seguro in remarks to Lusa news agency.
The Presidential candidate was responding to comments from the head of state, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who on Thursday proposed a political agreement on the role of the National Health Service (SNS), the social sector, and the private health sector, to ensure a medium-term framework.
Seguro, who has made the rescue of the SNS a central theme in his campaign, noted that this is “a very, very serious issue” and stressed, “there may be a shortage of funds for many things, but not for the health of the Portuguese people.”
In the candidate’s view, this objective should mobilize “all political actors, from the left and the right,” as well as parliament and the government.
“We must resolve this issue once and for all, we need to move from words to actions, and it must be done quickly. It should have been addressed yesterday,” he urged.
Regarding the death of a pregnant woman at the Amadora-Sintra hospital on Thursday, Seguro lamented that the country is surprised “by various reports of tragedies resulting from lack of aid or difficulties in accessing that same aid.”
“This is intolerable. We have made so much progress with the National Health Service, and now it seems we are regressing, which, as I have stated, should be the priority of priorities,” he emphasized.
When queried about the refusal of Health Minister Ana Paula Martins to resign from office, Seguro declined to comment, stating that it is “a matter of party politics, parliamentary life, and commentators.”
António José Seguro is visiting Paris, France today, to engage with the Portuguese community there, following his campaign stops in Zurich and Geneva, Switzerland, on Friday, with the same objective.
Asked whether he heard complaints from Portuguese expatriates about voting difficulties, Seguro noted it has been “a recurring issue.”
The candidate highlighted “the duality” between legislative and presidential elections, remarking that in the former, overseas voting “can be done without requiring personal attendance, whereas for the presidential elections, voting is done in person.”
“Hence, we need to find a criterion that is efficient and not an obstacle to the participation of Portuguese people working abroad,” he considered.
Seguro stressed the importance of listening to Portuguese emigrants because these citizens “have specific issues, their own problems, but they also have great ambitions.”
“In a sense, wherever there is a Portuguese person, there is Portugal. Therefore, we cannot regard Portuguese working abroad as outsiders, but rather try to integrate them as a whole,” he stated.
The candidate for Belém pointed out that younger generations wish for “a more competitive economy” that allows their return to the country, enabling “better salaries, career progression, and a better future.”
“Meanwhile, the older generations, those who emigrated in the 60s and 70s, demand a functioning state because they face issues and fears about returning to Portugal, related to double taxation and access to health care, which concerns them greatly,” he warned.
