The vice-president of the PS parliamentary group, Francisco César, said this Saturday that the experience of the Azores shows that the PSD “does not hesitate for a second” to conclude an agreement with Chega if this is necessary to govern the country.
In a speech at the 24th National Congress of the PS in Lisbon, Francisco César, who was Pedro Nuno Santos’s campaign manager in the PS leadership dispute, warned that “we are probably living through one of the most decisive moments.” for Portuguese democracy,” emphasizing that throughout the world “populist, nationalist, ultra-liberal and even neo-fascist parties are growing.”
“This resurgence of the far right has a parallel only in the 1930s, with consequences that we know well. But here, too, the far right has made its way,” he said.
Francisco César said that he knew this path well because he had seen it happen in the Azores, where Chega, “which declared itself as the voice of good people opposed to subsidies for those who do not work, a party that was for freedom against the political system,” for three years he supported “the government of the Democratic Alliance led by the SDP.”
Based on his experience of governance, Francisco César argued that it is important for the Portuguese to know that three days before the regional elections, PSD President Azores José Manuel Bolheiro, “as Luís Montenegro now claims,” said that “this is not a no” to a possible government agreement with Chega and seven days later signed an agreement on parliamentary protection with the party led by Andre Ventura.
“The credibility of the SDP is far superior to its history and facts, and if reaching an agreement with Chega is necessary to achieve this goal, it will not hesitate for a second,” he said.
Francisco César also refuted the thesis that when the far right comes to power, they become moderate, highlighting that in the Azores, measures such as “a 40% reduction in beneficiaries of social investment income (RSI)” were implemented, which meant that “poverty has increased significantly, making the Azores the poorest region in the country.”