The PKP general secretary announced on Wednesday that the party would submit a proposal to reject the AD government’s program, pledging to be an “opposition” to right-wing policies and fight them “from the first minute.”
At a press conference at the national headquarters of the PCP in Lisbon after the meeting of the Central Committee on Tuesday, Paulo Raimundo stressed that the party “from the first minute will fight right-wing policies and reactionary projects that they seek to assert themselves and will do this using everything available in their have the means to combat this.”
“The right-wing project will not be implemented through the PKP,” he assured.
When asked if the party admits that it has put forward a proposal to reject the AD government’s program, the communist leader replied: “I definitely say yes.”
“The fact that we are moving forward with this initiative is the political signal that we want to give, namely to make it immediately clear where we are going. For our part, we have no illusions about what the PSD and CDS project is all about, right. We have no illusions about the path and the consequences for the lives of people, workers and the country,” he said.
Referring to the remaining left-wing parties, Paulo Raimundo said the withdrawal proposal is “a clear signal that only binds those who represent it, but others will also make the choice they understand on this issue.”
“Whoever wants to follow us will follow us, whoever does not want to follow us will not follow. We are not dragging others along with us, but are giving a clear signal that the right-wing project is not moving forward with us,” he said.
Asked whether the PCP, given the current political scenario, believes there is a need for early elections, Paulo Raimundo replied that he is “totally sure” that the right-wing project is “harmful to the workers, the people and the country.”
“We needed this to not come to fruition,” he said.
Referring to the PS, which has already stated that it intends to make the AD government viable, Paulo Raimundo said that he already knows that the PCP will not receive support for its rejection motion.
“We will not be here to be part of the opposition, but to be the opposition to the right and right-wing politics. It’s not even worth talking about whether the SDP will give in to Chege or not. The SDP and SDS programs, taken together, justify all the warnings that we are now making,” he warned.
Paulo Raimundo noted that this is exactly what he will convey to the President of the Republic this Thursday, as part of the rounds that the head of state is holding with all parties.
“For his part, the President of the Republic can count on our usual coherence, firmness and the fact that we are on the first line of the fight against right-wing politics,” he said.
In his first speech, Paulo Raimundo said Sunday’s results “have created a situation even more favorable to big capital,” given that “approximately three million votes” on the right are based “on demagoguery, lies and illusions.”
“He has deceived thousands of people with a false idea of change, the kind of change that is actually required, but which will not come at the hands of the SDP, SDS, IL and Chegi. The only change that will come from these parties is more favoritism to economic groups, new attacks on public services,” he criticized.
The General Secretary of the PKP held the PS responsible for the current situation, believing that the party “did not miss the opportunity to feed and feed on the most reactionary forces” during the last two years of its absolute majority.
Despite acknowledging that the CDU result was a “negative element”, Paulo Raimundo said it was also a “sign of resistance” and vowed to continue to defend workers’ rights, announcing that between 21 and 24 March the PKP would promote a “day of communication with population.”
Asked if he was confident after this result that the CDU would be able to elect MEPs again in the next European elections, Paulo Raimundo said on June 9 that the coalition had “all the conditions for this.”
“Can you imagine the European Parliament without the voice of the PKP and the CDU? That was the end of the bite. It was not for us, it was for the people, for the workers and for the country,” he emphasized.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Tifany Hawkins, a professional journalist with years of experience in news reporting. I currently work for a prominent news website and write articles for 24NewsReporters as an author. My primary focus is on economy-related stories, though I am also experienced in several other areas of journalism.