Montenegro remembers IRS and asks PS and Chega if they want to “govern” together | European elections

Luís Montenegro defended this Sunday that the choice of Sebastião Bugalho as head of the list to the European elections is a question of coherence, countering that the PS and Chega have a problem of incoherence: the first because it already had a Government supported by parties that “don’t trust the EU” and the second because it is allied with parties that support the Putin’s regime. And he challenged both to show “coherence” and to “clarify”, at national level, whether they are going to form a permanent negative coalition against the Government in Parliament.

Defending that the PSD is “the only party that does not have a coherence problem”, the leader of the Social Democrats considered that the PS “will have a lot of difficulty”, during the electoral campaign, “in saying why in Portugal it accepts having a vision of government and a sharing of government with parties that do not trust the European Union, the euro and NATO”, referring to the former partners in the “contraption”, the BE and the PCP.

And he assumed that he will “urge” the PS to “show coherence” throughout the campaign. Regarding Chega, he stated that “he will have to explain why he goes hand in hand in Europe with Italian, French and German parties that defend Putin’s Russian regime”.

Montenegro was speaking at the official presentation of Sebastião Bugalho as head of the list, at the European University of AD, where he justified his choice with the fact that he wanted to make a candidacy “of young people, of merit, of boldness, of those available, even though they have no party affiliation to make a contribution.” Admitting that the television commentator’s candidacy is having “problems”, he said that “one of the easiest to resolve” is that of youth because “it is an advantage”.

“We are being consistent once again. We did not go and look for a member of the Government that we fired a while ago”, he argued, in an allusion to the head of the PS list, Marta Temido, who, contrary to what Montenegro says, was not fired, she fired yourself.

Europeans are not “revenge”

The Prime Minister also took the opportunity to return to the controversy over the IRS reduction and defend that the Government is “fulfilling” what it promised. And, taking into account that the left managed to approve proposals in this regard in Parliament with Chega’s abstention, he declared that “if the idea of ​​the PS and Chega is to simulate opposition to the Government by creating an alternative government, they will have to accept this, eyes on eyes, before the Portuguese”.

“It seems that PS and Chega want to approve a reduction in the IRS in Parliament that is different from that of the Government. This is governing, replacing the Government. If they want to recommend it, they can, if they want to govern instead of the Government, they have to seriously join in”, he provoked, calling on parties to take advantage of the campaign to “clarify these points”.

Recalling how he was “punished about the politics of alliances” in the legislative campaign, the PSD leader stressed that the European elections are not “revenge” for the March elections, but considered them an “opportunity to show coherence”.

At the end of AD’s political training initiative for young people, in Aveiro, Montenegro also assumed that these European elections will be a “challenge” to guarantee “participation” and make “understand the importance” of the electoral act. As such, he stressed that it is necessary to “raise awareness” of voters to vote, namely, through early voting. And that the AD has “the obligation to raise voters’ awareness of a use that is most consistent with the country’s interests.”

This is because it is in the European Parliament that the “main axes of public policy that will be in the main decisions” in Portugal are decided, he recalled. In this context, the leader of the executive elected as a “major debate” the idea that the EU can continue to be “a bloc, from a political and economic point of view, capable of being competitive on a global scale to generate resources that allow States to members to give citizens the well-being they have”.

And while he defended that this well-being “is unparalleled” in the world, he also warned that the European project “is called into question” from an economic and demographic point of view. “If it is not transformed, it is not viable”, he said, defending the importance of “competitiveness” and “wealth creation” to guarantee “social sustainability”.

The AD list for the European elections was approved on Monday by the PSD national council and the name of Sebastião Bugalho, read as a media bet and in attracting young voters, generated surprise and controversy due to the fact that he had no political experience and was journalist and commentator.