PSD vice-president Miguel Pinto Luz stated today that it was also “against the challenge of populism” that PSD and CDS-PP built the Democratic Alliance, arguing that this phenomenon can only be combated without fear of reform.
Pinto Luz was speaking at the opening of the 13th edition of the Universidade Europa, a political training initiative that brings together around 70 young people in the Curia (Aveiro), with interventions on Sunday by the prime minister and leader of the PSD, Luís Montenegro, and the head of the AD European list (a coalition that will bring together PSD, CDS-PP and PPM), Sebastião Bugalho.
When listing the various challenges currently facing the European Union, the Minister of Infrastructure and Housing also included populism.
“It is against this challenge of populism, that we, PSD and CDS-PP also built this AD. There is only one way that I know of to combat populism: it is to implement quality public policies, it is to show that we are capable, it is not to have any fear of reforming, no fear of taking risks”, he defended.
Pinto Luz highlighted that, in recent years, Europe has demonstrated that “it is powerful when it comes together”, giving as an example the way it dealt with the covid-19 crisis, and defined the ultimate aim of the policy as allowing each person to “implement the your projects of happiness”.
The warning against the growth of populism was a common thread in the various interventions of the opening session, with the leader of the JSD, Alexandre Poço, defending that the moderate forces of the center-right will have “a great challenge” in the composition of the European Parliament that exit the European elections that will take place in Portugal on June 9th.
“We, in the elections on March 10th, managed to win these elections and the contribution of the new generations was decisive, this being one of the segments in which the AD had its biggest victory against the PS. We have this challenge, on June 9th , ensure that young people continue to prefer to vote in this safe path, in this right path”, he appealed.
In one of his last interventions in party initiatives as leader of the JSD — the new president of the PSD “jota” will be chosen in July -, Alexandre Poço also said he hopes that the Portuguese economy will have the capacity to absorb European funds, without becoming totally dependent from them.
“That it can use European funds to develop and that European funds are not in the 21st century what, for example, Brazil’s gold was in the 18th century”, he appealed.
For the CDS-PP, secretary general Pedro Morais Soares also warned against populism and disinformation.
“Populists exploit people’s feelings, make media numbers, take advantage of public opinion and emotions”, he stated, contrasting with “the serious project” that AD represents in the next European elections.
The President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, left a video message to young participants at the Europa University, calling on them to vote in the next elections and “believe in the European project”.
“In a week in which the 50th anniversary of the 25th of April is celebrated, initiatives such as Universidade Europa are opportunities to celebrate democracy”, he said.
In the last European elections, in June 2019, the PSD ran alone and had its worst result ever, less than 22% of the votes, and elected six MEPs.
The Europa University is, along with the Summer University, which takes place at the end of August in Castelo de Vide (Portalegre) one of the PSD’s two annual initiatives focused on the political training of young people.
