PS expects Costa’s presence in the election campaign, and AD refuses national reading of results

On Monday, the PS said it expected former Prime Minister António Costa to be present in the election campaign, while the AD said the result of participation in the June 9 elections should not affect the country’s stability.

The heads of the list of parties with parliamentary representation participating in the European elections will take part in a radio debate this Monday in Lisbon, which will be the last before the vote on June 9.

The head of the Socialist list, Marta Temido, said she expects the presence of former Prime Minister António Costa in this second and final week of the campaign for the European elections, but explained that there are “issues on the agenda that are difficult to manage.”

When asked whether the poor result in these elections after the defeat in the legislative elections should lead to a rethink of the party’s leadership, Marta Temido simply replied that the PS does not work to lose and is “not prepared for that.”

“This election is not a legislative runoff or a primary for anything else. This is an election that is important for the lives of the Portuguese and Europeans,” he said.

AD candidate Sebastian Bugalho said that the result of these elections cannot “call into question the political stability of the country” and that the debate being held is dedicated to the theme “Europe for Europe”.

“We will not jeopardize national interests or political stability because of these European elections,” he added.

The head of the AD list also emphasized that voting for his candidacy is a “safe vote” and “certainty” for voters. “This is a vote that says: We’re not going to go back, we’re not going to.” come back,” he stressed.

Chega, author Antonio Tanger Correia, admitted in this debate that the party’s “main opponent” in these elections is the AD, and again left Chega’s options open regarding the European family with which they will sit in the European Parliament.

“There are movements to create a different type of block, there are movements to connect blocks, there are several movements in different directions. What are we currently doing? We are currently analyzing all these movements very carefully,” Chega highlighted the head of the list.

João Cotrim de Figueiredo, candidate of the Liberal Initiative, refused to believe that a good result in these elections is negative for the image of party leader Rui Rocha, recalling that although he has “partial credit for what is going well”, his candidacy benefits from “all the conditions” that the party has provided him and without which he “cannot do anything.”

The CDU’s Joao Oliveira said the party would make an “assessment based on the result” it achieves in these elections, stressing that this is a “battle” waged by communists from the “north to the south of the country.” .

“The European Parliament needs someone who will have a voice for the policies that the country needs,” he said.

The head of the Bloco de Esquerda list, Catarina Martins, refused to take individual responsibility in the event of a bad result for the Blocistas, stressing that the party is collective. He also said that this election is different from recent legislative elections because because of a single constituency, “there are no useful votes” and “the people choose the representative they want to see defend them.”

Livre, author Francisco Pauperio, confirmed Rui Tavares’ support for his candidacy, highlighting all the teamwork within the party since his victory in the primary elections. He argued that responsibility for the result lay with him “if he loses, and with Livre if he wins.”

PAN’s Pedro Fidalgo Márquez said there is “no point in having a useful voice” in these elections, calling on animal rights activists to return to the candidacy to strengthen their party’s presence.