Chega president André Ventura this Tuesday accused the leader of the PSD of making two speeches, one “outside” and the other “inside”, in which he challenged him to “clean up the house” to find an alternative can be provided by the government.
André Ventura responded to journalists in parliament on the statements made by PSD leader Luís Montenegro, who denied any approach to Chega on Tuesday.
Chega’s deputy admitted that he had not heard Montenegro’s statements, but believed that Montenegro “wants to please the right-wing and left-wing factions of the PSD and is therefore trying to say one thing outward and the other inward” .
“On the outside it says: we are getting closer to Chega, the positions are the same, here we have the possibility of an agreement, because that was the demand of the President of the Republic. Montenegro cannot say on Monday, Wednesday and Friday that if in the [eleições] European elections result in a clear majority of the right going to Belém to demand its dissolution [do parlamento]but know that the president demands that there be an alternative”to maintain.
And therefore continued, what Montenegro “I mean outside is: this alternative already exists”.
But “from the inside”, he claimed, the speech is different from “caution” the critics, referring to the statements of the former vice president of the PSD André Coelho Lima, who recently rejected “a utilitarian vision of immigration” and considered that the reservations about the reception of immigrants reveal a “lack of worldview” and are “not very intelligent”.
“I understand that. The PSD is an internal guerrilla party and Chega does not have this problem. (…) The difference between the PSD and Chega is this: the PSD has to furnish its house for a Government, enough the house has for a … “to be government. Now it will depend on the PSD. We have time”he claimed.
Ventura’s opinion: “The PSD needs to clean the house once and for all so that these former vice presidents, former rioters, former barrosistas, former everything, who will be nothing anymore, just exes, will not play a dominant role in the party in the future,” he shot.
Otherwise, he added, the alternative is “to sit with the PS that rules legislature after legislature”.
According to Ventura, Montenegro was “smarter than Rui Rio [antigo líder do PSD] but now it has to be more affirmative” and say “yes, we are creating an alternative”.
“It will kick some of the PSD, but it’s 15% or 10%, it’s not more than that”argued.
The leader of Chega was also questioned about the statements of the President of the Republic, who today asked Montenegro and Moedas for “common sense” on a “subject as sensitive” as immigrants and considered that “very emotional statements about business run the risk of being irrational”.
Warning that “the copy always loses to the original”, the head of state pointed out that “the positions that are taken cannot be taken behind emotions”.
Ventura agreed, adding that he considers Luís Montenegro to be “an intelligent man”.
“When he says immigration should be controlled and subsidies controlled, he is not trying to imitate me (…) I think he thinks this and that is why I think we have a path to an understanding”insisted.
Regarding the fire in Mouraria that killed two people, Carlos Moedas last week defended that there should be limits on immigration by sector and criticized that it is currently possible for immigrants to enter Portugal without a work contract. Luís Montenegro believed that the country should receive immigrants “in a regulated manner” and “search the world” for communities that can better relate to the Portuguese.
The deputy was also questioned about the decision announced on Tuesday by the BE coordinator, Catarina Martins, not to run for party leadership again, as an extension was “inevitable”.
“I can’t wish Catarina Martins political luck, but I personally wish her well”he said.
Source: DN
