In an interview conducted by Ana Patrícia Carvalho, Carlos Moedas addressed the future government and the growth of Chega, arguing that the Portuguese were desperate with politics and voted for populism.
The president of Chega, André Ventura announced this Monday that the PSD will make the party’s candidates available for the parliamentary table and indicated that, “following this information”, he will transmit to his deputies that they also support the names of the social democrats .
For the mayor of Lisbon, there will be no agreement between the two right-wing parties, stating that the vote is secret and that the elected deputies vote “according to their conscience”.
“I think there is no agreement. There is a sovereign body, which is the Assembly of the Republic, in which the deputies will meet for the first time, they will choose the president of the Assembly of the Republic, who I think will be José Pedro Aguiar-Branco . And this Assembly of the Republic must reflect the vote of the Portuguese”, he began by saying.
“I don’t think there is an understanding. The vote is secret. Deputies vote according to their conscience. The AD will not govern with Chega but a president of the Assembly of the Republic has to be very careful about the diversity in what was the photograph that Portuguese people withdrew from these elections with these parties”, he added.
“The result of Chega is a consequence of people’s desperation”
In the March 10 elections, Chega managed to elect 50 deputies, a great result for a party with only five years of existence. Carlos Moedas points out that this result was due to populism and the despair of the Portuguese with politics.
“This Chega result is a consequence of populism, of people’s desperation, which led Portuguese people desperate with politics to vote for populism. The solution is to respect the decision in this electoral act and for this to be reflected in the Assembly of the Republic”, he said .
“Santos Silva was largely to blame for Chega’s growth”
The Lisbon mayor also states that the Socialist Party, which was in Government in recent years, was the main culprit for Chega’s growth, but Augusto Santos Silva, who is leaving the leadership of the Assembly of the Republic, also “was very much to blame” .
“The Socialist Party is very much to blame for what we are experiencing. First in bad governance and but also in the growth of populism. And what happened in the Assembly of the Republic unfortunately was to give the stage to Chega. Augusto Santos Silva was very much to blame for this”, he defended.
Santos Silva leaves, Aguiar-Branco enters
Augusto Santos Silva is at the end of his term as president of the Assembly of the Republic and the next man will be José Pedro Aguiar-Branco, it seems. For Moedas, the choice is the right one, because with a great political experience, Aguiar-Branco “can join forces”.
“José Pedro Aguiar-Branco has several characteristics. He is a man with a lot of political experience, with parliamentary experience and is a man of serenity and calm in governance. He can join forces. I think he will play a great role. We need a person like him” , shot.
“Budget surplus? I don’t know if it’s good news.”
Last year’s budget surplus was one billion euros higher than budgeted, mainly due to a greater than estimated contribution from contributory and tax revenue. The State achieved a historic surplus of 1.2% of Gross Domestic Product in 2023, exceeding the target of 0.8% included in the State Budget report for 2024.
For the social democrat, this news may not exactly be good news for Luís Montenegro’s Executive, predicting that the budgetary “slack” will disappear due to the decline in inflation and the reduction in the tax burden that the new Government will have to operate.
“First, what excess are we talking about? When we had inflation, which in essence is the justification for this slack. As soon as inflation drops, that slack disappears. Then we have a high tax burden. We have a slack that will decrease because the inflation and the new Government will have to lower taxes. I don’t know if this is good news for the coming Government”, he analyzed.
“The people are happy with this change. There is a new breath”
The PSD won the legislative elections on March 10, overturning eight years of socialist governance. Carlos Moedas says that the country is happy with the shift to the right.
“The Socialist Party governed 23 years in 30 years. People were very tired. There is a new breath. The people are happy with this change,” he stated.
