“Betrayal to the Homeland”, “shock”, “unacceptable”: the parties’ reactions to Marcelo’s controversial words

The parties argue that the President of the Republic must retract the statements he made about António Costa and Luís Montenegro, the previous and current prime ministers. Chega even talks about a “betrayal of the country” by Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, when referring to the History of Portugal, and even uses the word “destitution”.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa is at the center of a controversyafter words he spoke during a dinner with journalists from the Foreign Press Association in Lisbon were revealed this Wednesday.

The Head of State stated that the new Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, has “rural behavior” and that the previous one, António Costa, was “slow” because he is Eastern.

But it was the President of the Republic’s statements about Portugal’s colonialist past that most bothered the Chega leader.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa recognized Portugal’s responsibility for crimes committed during the colonial era, suggesting the payment of reparations for past mistakes.

For André VenturaMarcelo’s words “are not foolishness or a mistake that we can all have, they are a betrayal of the country”.

“If there were, in Portugal, a process of dismissal of the Presidency of the Republic, Chega would not hesitate to start it”, declared Ventura, this Wednesday, in the Assembly of the Republic.

Regarding the words he said about Luís Montenegro e Costa, the Chega leader considers that It was not a “very dignified” act.

On the Left, it was Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa’s statements about the heads of Government – ​​and not, naturally, those he made about Portugal’s slavery past – that left the parties uncomfortable.

Mariana Mortágua, leader of the Left Blocconsiders that the words of the President of the Republic are “a inappropriate way to express the relationship with the head of Governmentregardless of the person who occupies this role”.

“It’s not just bad form, it’s not just bad taste,” he argued. “It is unacceptable.”

“The statements made by the President of the Republic are not up to the position he occupies and, furthermore, they manifest a prejudice towards the rural world and the Interior. They manifest expressions of classism, discrimination, prejudice,” he added, stressing that “it was very important that the President of the Republic could recant.”

For the Free, parliamentary leader Isabel Mendes Lopes asserted himself “deeply shocked” with the words of the Head of State.

“It cannot happen that the President of the Republic will feed prejudices and contribute to a greater polarization of Portuguese society”, he declared.

Already Inês Sousa Real, PAN’s only deputy, speaks in “unfortunate” statements.

“The President of the Republic must represent everyone, regardless of whether we belong to urban or rural areas, or regardless of our origin, in particular, in this case, making references to those who are from the East. For PAN, it is essential that we can promote greater interinstitutional respect and, in this sense, we cannot fail to repudiate the statements”, he highlighted.

You PSD and PS parliamentary leaders, Hugo Soares and Alexandra Leitão, as well as PCP deputy António Filipe, refused to comment the case.

O President of the Republic confirmedthis afternoon, the statements attributed to him, at a dinner with foreign journalists the day before, but considered that he did not make offensive assessments and that the Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, “will surprise”.