Without mentioning names, Luís Montenegro took advantage of a speech from the pulpit at the inauguration of the Multipurpose Pavilion of the Humanitarian Association of Voluntary Firefighters of Peniche, to leave an implicit message addressed, at least, to the president of Chega, André Ventura.
“So many try to distract public and published opinion with minor issues, which are of no interest to anyone but themselves and even then time will tell that it is to their own detriment and discredit”criticized.
In these days, he added, when “while some are distracted by what is lateral and minor completion, the Government remains firm and committed to solving people’s problems”.
“That’s what he’s going to do in the coming days, the coming weeks and, as the President of the Chamber anticipated, in the coming years,” he said.
Last Thursday, in an interview with TVI, Chega’s leader, André Ventura, claimed to have had several meetings with the prime minister that were not disclosed to the media with a view to reaching an agreement on the State Budget for 2025, which included the possibility of the party becoming part of the Government, in a “different political context”.
On that day, the Prime Minister assured, through the social network X, that “the Government never proposed an agreement to Chega”, and accused André Ventura of lying.
“The Government never proposed an agreement to Chega. What has just been said by the President of that party is simply a lie. It is serious but it is nothing more than Lie and Despair”, he said, without returning to the topic whenever he was questioned in public.
In recent days, the accusation would be repeated again by André Ventura.
On Saturday, at a rally in Vila Nova de Famalicão (Braga), the general secretary of the PS, Pedro Nuno Santos, stated that the right in Portugal “is not trustworthy”, classifying it as “a shame” that the leaders of the PSD and the Enough to accuse each other of lying.
“We don’t know who’s lying, we’re not going to settle this dispute. But to say ‘André, we didn’t trust you and, therefore, we’re not going to negotiate with you’, one meeting was enough,” said Pedro Nuno Santos.
For the socialist leader, this is an issue that needs to be clarified, so that the Portuguese can be sure that “the Prime Minister’s word is to be taken seriously”.
