Pedro Nuno Santos claims Luis Montenegro ‘can’t manage’

The PS general secretary noted on Tuesday that the PSD president has assured that he will not govern with Chega and will not come second in the elections, indicating that Luis Montenegro “does not have the capacity to govern.”

This position regarding the results of the legislative elections was expressed by Pedro Nuno Santos in his speech to members of the Portuguese Confederation of Tourism (CFT) in Lisbon.

During his first speech at the luncheon, the CFT President said he was pleased that the PS won an absolute majority in the January 2022 legislative elections, as this result indicates more than four years of political stability and the time needed to implement fundamental reforms in the country .

Regarding the prospects for early legislative elections on March 10, Francisco Callheiros expressed concern about a result that could cause instability, criticizing in this context the decision of the 2015 “Gérigons” “with anti-tourism parties” in the sphere of power.

Pedro Nuno Santos then defended Geringons’ 2015 political decision, but spoke mainly about what was at stake in the March 10 elections.

“I believe that we will only have a stable government in Portugal if the PS wins a major victory in the legislative elections. Today, it is unlikely that any party has an absolute majority,” he began with a remark, before trying to link the PSD with ungovernability.

“My main opponent says that he will not rule if he comes second, and he says that he will not rule with Chega. So it is impossible to rule,” he noted.

He then emphasized his point about the importance of the PS’s ability to form a government.

“I have already said and will continue to say: we do not know what parliamentary configuration will emerge in the elections on March 10, but we know that the government will be more stable – I speak for myself – the more forces the PS has. Our goal is to achieve a result that guarantees Portugal has a stable government led by the Social Democratic Party,” he insisted.

As for the minority leaders António Costa, who were supported in parliament by the PCP, the Bloc de Esquerda and the PEV, the Socialist leader contradicted the position of Francisco Callheiros.

“I understand the criticism that the CFT president expressed towards the solution found in 2015, but I’m willing to bet that there is not a single businessman here who would not see an improvement in the situation in his company in the period from 2025 to 2019. I even admit exceptional situations, but these were four years of growth and restoration. Companies won more, they did not lose in 2019 compared to 2015. There were fears that were not confirmed,” he said.