Bugalho says AD is running a “fearless campaign” and points to socialist governments in Europe.

The head of the European AD list said this Thursday that the coalition is “campaigning without fear of difficult issues” and pointed to European socialist governments on issues such as abortion or immigration.

At a lunchtime rally in Coimbra attended by several hundred people, Sebastian Bugallo began by mentioning that AD (the coalition uniting PSD, CDS-PP and PPM) is not afraid to debate with its opponents and is “not afraid of difficult topics.”

“We talk about migration without populism, we talk about housing without populism, because it is on difficult issues that democrats shine, because they solve the problems of those who should believe in democracy,” he defended.

However, the candidate acknowledged that AD is “a campaign that does not shy away from defending itself,” an implicit response to attacks from its opponents.

“This is in Malta with a socialist government where abortion is a crime, not in Portugal with AD. This is in Denmark with a socialist government that defends Rwanda’s policy of deporting immigrants, this is not in Portugal with the AD government. This is in Spain with blood pressure. a socialist government that has physical walls on its borders, not Portugal with an AD government,” he said.

On the other hand, he added, it was “the socialist government that left 1.7 million Portuguese without a family doctor, not the AD government.”

“With us, Portugal has already changed a lot in a very short time. When this legislature ends, it will not only be different, but better, more equal, fairer and freer,” he said.

A day after the PSD/CDS-PP government presented its health emergency program, the head of the AD list said Portugal deserves a country “that is not afraid to be alive,” saying the plan prioritizes the fight against cancer. as before. is already happening in the European Union.

Sebastian Bugalho said that in May, Portugal’s National Health Service operated on 1,299 cancer patients “out of 9,000 that the Health Service left unoperated.”

“We Portuguese have the right not only to European growth, to European wages, but also to European health care,” he said, highlighting the role of MEP and repeat AD candidate Lydia Pereira in the creation of a special commission to fight cancer in the European Union. parliament.

At the beginning of his speech, Sebastian Bugallo expressed confidence to the audience, who had only eaten soup before three speeches at the rally: “I confess, this Thursday I tried Fortimel for the first time, and the President of the Republic has everything I need. reason: it works,” he joked.

Previously, Lydia Pereira, fifth on the AD list, accused the PS and its list leader Marta Temido of telling a “stream of lies”, for example by saying that the PSD and SDS-PP voted against decent and affordable housing in the European Parliament, among others examples.

“It was a barrage of lies, insinuations, hoaxes on which the PS built its election campaign. Not only do we have to fight disinformation coming from Russia, we also have to fight disinformation coming from the PS. that Marta Temido treats the truth as poorly as he treated the medical workers at his consulate,” he accused.

The candidate said AD campaigned in a positive, proposal-based manner and without the “hate speech” she had heard from other candidates.

“The fight against right-wing populism cannot be fought with left-wing populism (…) This election also sends a signal about the type of democracy, debate and political discourse we want,” he said.

In Portugal, the European elections will take place on June 9, and 17 parties and coalitions will take part in them: AD, PS, Chega, IL, BE, CDU, Livre, PAN, ADN, MAS, Ergue-te, Nova Direita, Volt. Portugal, RIR, We the Citizens, MPT and PTP. 21 deputies will be elected.