Did you campaign, what did you find in the party structures?
What I found was great enthusiasm in the party for this election. It is a huge opportunity for the Liberal initiative to assert its proposals, now with a variety of approaches, to have the opportunity to see two candidates present their proposals and to reach people who have not followed IL as much.
What message are you sending to militants?
I have presented the proposals that I think are necessary and that can bring more growth to IL. One of the campaign’s mottos is precisely “more liberal initiative”. In addition, we have new proposals that go directly to solving people’s real problems. This applies to housing, transport, education, the electoral system and the efficiency of public services. And that’s why we have very strong flags that are part of the identity of IL, the issue of tax relief and freedom of choice in the health system, reducing bureaucracy, but to appeal to more Portuguese we need to add many other proposals that, within a liberal matrix, are destined to solve the concrete problems of the population.
And what sets you apart from your opponent, Carla Castro?
What distinguishes me above all and what confirms this candidacy is a vision of the country. A vision of a country where the tax burden does not suffocate people, where the Portuguese are rightly rewarded for their work, where public services operate efficiently, where the electoral system guarantees that hundreds of thousands of votes are not thrown away as is happening today, where there is a merit system for the civil service , where there is freedom of choice in education and health and where there is individual freedom and freedom of expression for all Portuguese. This is my country, which I dream about every day.
Is the goal of the chosen team to respond to these growth needs of IL?
The executive committee we present to IL has about half of the members who were among the outgoing ones, which is an important sign of continuity in IL’s success formula. And then the other part of the Commission will be new, people with new ideas. And in addition to this renovation to make the party stronger, it has a very broad territorial representation, if we look at the replacements and the effective ones, we have representation from Braga, Bragança, Beja, Faro and the Azores and Madeira.
Will this representation become more important with the election acts in both regions?
During the period of validity of the next IL Executive Committee, we will have election acts in the Azores and Madeira and there is a clear sign of commitment to this election battle, with the representation of Nuno Barata, our deputy in the Regional Assembly of the Azores, with the clear intention to grow, and Nuno Morna representing Madeira, with a clear commitment to the election of the region’s first IL Regional Delegate. There are two portfolios that exist on the executive committee that depend directly on me, as a clear sign of commitment to these election laws.
And what are the main lines of your strategy movement?
The strategy motion is based precisely on this idea that we should have stronger measures aimed at the life of the Portuguese. Concrete measures such as those aimed at housing with the abolition of the urban building regime, a legal document from the Estado Novo, which is completely out of line with the current living and building conditions, and its replacement by a regime that is flexible and adapted to needs of the country in the 21st century.
I already said that a stronger resistance against the PS and the government is needed, but how can it be more effective?
In addition to the day-to-day struggle, the identification of the governance problems of the PS, whether they are more structural or more indirect, or even the cases that happen sequentially, this battle must be waged with the opposition of the vision of a country that defends the IL . I really believe in the growth potential of IL to convey the vision of a completely different country to the Portuguese in a communicatively simple, but very emphatic way.
“It’s a huge honor to be next to Carlos and João and that’s a picture I really want to take. The next day’s picture where we’re together with them.”
Will IL be closely involved in the constitutional review process?
IL presented its own project, which was dictated by the circumstances and is minimalistic. But the IL must fight against threats to the rights, freedoms and guarantees of the Portuguese, namely against the possibility of detentions being ordered administratively without prior intervention by the Assembly of the Republic or the courts. PS and PSD come together to find similar solutions and this is a fundamental struggle and being very vocal in this struggle, taking to the streets in the opposition if necessary. You can also file a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights.
If you win the election, do you get Carla Castro’s team?
The election will take place on January 22 and the focus on January 23 will be on doing everything possible to assert the IL and in that sense I count on everyone who is available for the political struggle, namely for the regional elections and for the European elections, where IL wants to grow or assert itself for the first time with the election of the representation in the European Parliament.
There was already a former president on the IL bench, Carlos Guimarães Pinto, in January there will be two, with João Cotrim Figueiredo. Isn’t that a great weight for the new direction?
On the contrary, it’s a huge honor to be next to Carlos and João and that’s a picture I really want to take. The next day’s picture of us uniting with them to present our ideas to the country and grow IL electorally.
Source: DN
