PS leader says the party’s victory was “a more significant victory than the government’s victory in March”

The Secretary General of the Social Democratic Party, Pedro Nuno Santos, said this Monday that the European results showed that the Portuguese told the government that it must involve the opposition.

“Government [eleito pela coligação AD – PSD/CDS-PP/PPM] you also need to want to involve parliament and the opposition. In fact, I think that’s what the Portuguese also wanted to say yesterday. [domingo]”, about the result of the Europeans,” said Pedro Nuno Santos, speaking to reporters upon his arrival in Pedrogan Grande, where he will attend the June 10 celebrations.

According to the PS leader, “it is quite clear that the Portuguese did not like the way the government treated parliament and the opposition.”

“If not, then the government that came to power two months ago did not just lose the elections,” he said.

Pedro Nuno Santos stressed that the government came to power “two months ago” and that it had “the last month with an intense campaign, with measures after measures” and yet it “lost the European elections.”

The PS leader also said that the party’s victory is “a more significant victory than the government’s victory in March.”

When asked by journalists whether Prime Minister Luis Montenegro understood this message, the PS Secretary General replied that he hoped “he understood.”

Pedro Nuno Santos confirmed that the PS will not be a “factor of instability,” stressing that it is not the party he leads that has ruled out “any desire for dialogue.”

The PS was the party with the most votes (32.1% and eight MEPs) in Sunday’s European elections, ahead of the Democratic Alliance, which had 31.1% and seven seats, according to preliminary results.

According to the General Secretariat of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Chega, which elected two members of the European Parliament, became the third political force with 9.79%.

Also, after the election of two deputies, the Liberal Initiative (IL) received 9.07% of the votes.

The Left Bloc (BE) received 4.25% of the votes and the CDU (PCP/PEV) 4.12%, receiving one MEP each.

Celebrations of Portugal Day, Camões and the Portuguese communities this year are centered on Castanheira de Pera, Figueiro dos Vinhos and Pedrogão Grande, municipalities affected by fires in June 2017, which left 66 people dead and 253 injured. These fires also destroyed about half a thousand homes and 50 businesses.