PS Secretary General candidate Pedro Nuno Santos said it appears that the PSD continues to “wait for the devil” and that Luís Montenegro remains the parliamentary leader of Passos Coelho.
“It appears that Pedro Passos Coelho is no longer Prime Minister and PSD leader Luís Montenegro remains Pedro Passos Coelho’s parliamentary leader. He announced that the devil was coming and the devil did not come. And eight years later it looks like they’re still waiting for the devil.” he declared in Covilhã, where he took part in a meeting with activists and supporters from the Castelo Branco neighborhood.
The candidate for the PS leadership argued that the PSD “continues to cling to and obsess over the first four years of socialist rule, saying it was bad for the people.”
“We actually wonder why it was bad. After four years of austerity we had four years of income and higher pensions, more employment, higher minimum wages and lower debt,” he argued.
Pedro Nuno Santos also found it interesting to hear the PSD leader say today that they have been preparing the election manifesto for a year. “Given the clumsy way in which the proposal for a solidarity allowance for the elderly was presented, I would say they started doing it last week,” he emphasizes.
The PS candidate for direct elections believes that the PSD “has no credibility if it promises to increase pensions, because this is contrary to what the PSD has always practiced”.
According to him, “the Portuguese know that when socialists say they want to increase pensions, they mean it.”
“We just have to keep doing what we have always done. We don’t have to go against what has always been our practice,” he emphasized.
In a speech outside the party, Pedro Nuno Santos argued that it is necessary to put an end to “the culture that gives up part of the country” and be able to look at the entire area beyond the “narrow coastal strip between Braga”. and Setubal”.
The meeting was attended by Ana Abrunhosa, elected deputy for the Castelo Branco circle and current Minister of Territorial Cohesion.
Ana Abrunhosa, who said she will not vote in the PS internal elections, believed that Pedro Nuno Santos “will be a great prime minister”, highlighting his “ability to share power and decision-making”.
Speaking to journalists, Pedro Nuno Santos emphasized “the strong support” of the Socialists and refused to comment on the statements of José Luís Carneiro, who argued that it was necessary to listen to the country that supported his candidacy.
“My comrade is running his campaign and I have great respect for it. From December 15, we will be together. My opponent is the PSD and Luís Montenegro and that is what we are focusing on,” he argued.
Candidates for direct PS elections are, in addition to Pedro Nuno Santos, José Luís Carneiro and Daniel Adrião.
Source: DN
