PCP general secretary Paulo Raimundo today refused to see the Socialist Party as the main enemy, but said he could not downplay socialist policies “of his own free will.”
“The PCP does not see any enemy in the PS, let alone the main enemy. Do not now ask the PCP to downplay the political options of the PS, which considered them as its own.”said Paulo Raimundo when asked about the advice the Prime Minister gave on Monday during his farewell from Parliament.
On the sidelines of the “For the Right to Housing” session in Porto, the PCP Secretary General opined that the outgoing Prime Minister “decided yesterday [segunda-feira] participating in an election campaign and went in together.”
“He came in the afternoon and said that the PCP chooses the PS as its enemy and then went in at night to recall a series of important measures that essentially correspond to the PCP’s measures”he said.
Asked about the fact that some ministers in office are conducting an election campaign, Paulo Raimundo assured that “everything is on campaign”.
“Let’s stop hypocrisy and cynicism. Everything is in the campaign. Yesterday the Prime Minister kicked off the election campaign with great pomp. Everything is in the campaign, some with the mantle of a minister, others without the mantle of a minister.”he added.
Regarding the possibility that the PCP would conclude an agreement with the PS after the elections, as proposed by the candidate for general secretary Pedro Nuno Santos, Paulo Raimundo assured that if they “do the politics of the past two years”, they wouldn’t count. on his party.
“To implement this policy of the last two years of the PS? Is it signing off on the PCP to continue throwing people out on the streets? To increase rents? Do nothing about increasing benefits? Not for that, not for that. It is clear that they count towards the PCP. We don’t go around here half-heartedly”he claimed.
During the session, which took place at the Residents’ Association of Campo Alegre, the General Secretary of the PCP heard the testimonies of some people who, faced with the increase in the cost of living, lost their homes or had difficulties in finding housing solutions that would can tolerate.
Asked whether instability in people’s lives would increase in the next three months, Paulo Raimundo recalled that this did not start on November 7, the day the prime minister resigned, but “years ago”.
“If there is no change in policy, which we believe will have to happen with the strengthening of the PCP and the CDU, then this will last not only the next three months, but also the next six months.” he added.
Paulo Raimundo also said that he did not want to “fuel false controversies” over the decision of the President of the Republic to accept the resignation of António Costa, as the government is responsible for the current political situation.
“The Prime Minister has resigned, the President of the Republic has accepted his resignation, the Assembly of the Republic will dissolve and parliamentary elections are scheduled for March 10. Ultimately, it is the President of the Republic who decides, but he does not decide alone. He has had two conversations with the Prime Minister, so responsibilities must be shared.”he said.
Source: DN
