Ventura admits that Passos Coelho and Gouveia and Melo are names “to be considered” in the presidential election.

On Tuesday, Chegi’s leader admitted that former Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho and Admiral Gouveia e Melo are two names that “should be taken into account” in the 2026 presidential elections.

Speaking to reporters, Andre Ventura was asked if he would be willing to give up his presidential candidacy if former Prime Minister and Social Democratic leader Pedro Passos Coelho entered the race for Belen.

André Ventura began by answering that “this scenario is difficult to imagine at the moment” and reiterated that Passos Coelho “has the same conditions as few others to become a candidate for the Presidency of the Republic.”

“Whether it will be supported or cannot be supported is a question that I cannot decide now and here alone. Wouldn’t I get ahead because of this? First of all, I haven’t even made a decision on this issue, and there are other names that are also profiled and that should be taken into account, like in the case of Admiral Gouveia and Melo, that’s another name that needs to be taken into account.” – he said.

The Chegi leader added that “a number of names are emerging who can even count on Chegi’s support.”

“I think this is a positive thing, not necessarily the candidacy of President Chegi, who was already a presidential candidate,” he said.

Ventura also defended statements made by former Prime Minister Passos Coelho on Monday at the launch of the book “Identity and the Family – Between the Consciousness of Tradition and the Demands of Modernity,” saying the Social Democrat “has the right” to express his views publicly.

Former Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho on Monday asked for a “very strong signal” in response to those who expressed disappointment in the last elections and not to create theatrical divisions in the political space.

At the launch of the book Identity and Family, attended by Chega leaders Andre Ventura and CDS-PP Nuno Melo, Passos Coelho argued that people must have the ability to “understand each other collectively.” and warned that you can’t tell voters you have “great respect for their concerns” but not for the choices they made in the election.

“It’s a bit of an insult to people, we can’t say, ‘I really care about what you want, but if you make this choice, you won’t get anything from here, if you make this choice, you will.’ don’t talk to me,” he said.

Without explaining the recipients, but clearly alluding to the SDP and Chegu, the former prime minister said that “when there are established identities,” there is no need to fear that political spaces are “blurring or mixing with each other.”