Ventura challenges Montenegro to clarify whether it will make the PS government viable – Politics

Chega’s leader, André Ventura, this Saturday challenged the president of the PSD to clarify whether a PS government will be viable, if right-wing parties have a majority in parliament, guaranteeing that Chega will not do so.

“Luís Montenegro has to answer whether he has to choose between the right and the PS, whether he prefers to give a hand to the PS and make the PS viable, but then the PSD won’t be much different from what the Bloco de Esquerda and the PCP did”, he stated, on the sidelines of a dinner rally in Angra do Heroísmo, in the Azores, on the eve of the start of the electoral campaign in the region.

André Ventura assured that “if there is a majority on the right”, Chega will not make a PS government viable and will “fight to create a convergence that allows for an alternative government”, accusing the Democratic Alliance (AD), a coalition formed by PSD , CDS and PPM, of maintaining a “culture of subservience to the Socialist Party”.

“It is tremendous irresponsibility, a tremendous shot in the foot, it is naivety and amateurism that I hoped would not exist in a coalition that wants to govern Portugal. Perhaps that is why it is understandable that so many deputies, leaders and members of these parties are wanting to come to Chega”, he pointed out.

The leader of Chega was reacting to statements by the president of the CDS-PP, Nuno Melo, who said this Saturday that “the AD will not make a left-wing government viable”, accusing it of being “the useful crutch of the PS”.

“The AD will not make a left-wing government viable, firstly, because it will win the elections and, secondly, because normality disappeared when the PS governed having lost the elections and Pedro Nuno Santos clarified that it will not make a government on his right viable, opening the doors to a 2.0 contraption, which would be a disaster for Portugal”, said Nuno Melo, in a statement.

“The rules must be the same for everyone. Under normal conditions, whoever wins must govern”, added the centrist leader.

The position of the president of the CDS-PP came after André Ventura said that there was a “feeling of revolt” between the PSD, CDS and the Liberal Initiative, because the AD admitted making a possible PS minority government viable.

At night, in Angra do Heroísmo, the president of Chega said he was “stunned” by Nuno Melo’s statements, claiming that the centrist leader is “denying himself”.

Ventura argued that “it was important for Montenegro to say what is coming”, at the AD convention, scheduled for Sunday, because Nuno Melo “is a minor figure in this coalition”.

“It was important for the center-right people to know what the AD is preparing to do. We can’t just do things after the elections. We have to be clear before the elections and everyone has to say what they want”, he stressed , claiming that the AD’s stance could lead voters to think that “it’s better to vote for a PS government”.

The leader of Chega stressed that the party has already shown “signs of convergence”, giving as an example the case of the Azores, in which it signed a parliamentary influence agreement, which allowed the formation of a PSD/CDS-PP/PPM coalition government, in 2020.

“We have always shown every sign of governability and responsibility, we continue to do so. The PS will only govern if the AD wants it to govern the PS, either by rejecting Chega, if that is fundamental for a majority, or by enabling a Pedro government Nuno Santos”, he highlighted.

André Ventura also considered it a “tremendous hypocrisy” for the PSD leader not to want agreements with Chega in the Republic, when this happened in the Azores, stressing that “there is only one Chega and there is only one PSD”.

“That’s why no one takes it seriously anymore when the parties say there won’t be convergence. This convergence, if there are votes for it, has to exist and will exist if people are responsible. If they aren’t, the country will know how to evaluate who was responsible”, he highlighted.

And he added: “Who benefits from this? The left, obviously, because it continues to feed the idea that there is no solution on the right.”