“An oasis” just for one, the “country in reverse” or a Portugal that is not the one that “99% of other Portuguese people don’t live in or see”. From right to left, Luís Montenegro’s first Christmas message as prime minister “was not moving” and drew criticism. Here is how the parties reacted:
PS accuses Montenegro of trying to “divert attention”
For socialists, message from Montenegro “contrasts with reality” and wanted to “divert attention from the fact that this Government is not solving the Portuguese problem”. “The truth is that it has been several months, several ‘powerpoints’ and several measures and when we understand what has already been done (…) they are clearly not producing results”, stated Alexandra Leitão. But “it’s not worth drawing an electoral picture of a country that is not what the Portuguese know”, said the parliamentary leader.
On the other hand, the message contrasted with the measures that have been approved with the vote of the PSD and CDS in the Assembly of the Republic and with the Christmas message of the President of the Republic (who in a opinion article published in Jornal de Notícias called for equality and “overcoming unfair discrimination”). In turn, theGovernment by AD “there is a perception of insecurity that is not real and takes the opportunity to enter a drift of totalitarian populism”.
“The need for humanism, solidarity and investing in the Rule of Law and the Welfare State” should, in the opinion of socialists, have been at the center of the Prime Minister’s Christmas message.
Chega criticizes “round speech” about crime
André Ventura also accused Luís Montenegro of “live and see a country that 99% of other Portuguese people don’t live in or see”namely by continuing to repeat that Portugal is (as official statistics say) one of the “safest countries in the world”. “Today, in practically the entire country, the Portuguese feel the weight of insecurity, the threat of crime, violence or drug trafficking”, he stated. This safe country exists “only in the minds of the PS and PSD”.
Therefore, he argues, the The Prime Minister’s Christmas message should be a “message of tranquility, hope and assurance that he will be on the side of the security forces” against crime and “banditry”. But Luís Montenegro “didn’t do that at all”, said André Ventura. “He opted for the same round speech that António Costa could have made, or any other prime minister before him.”
Ventura pointed out the same dissonance in the prime minister’s speech about taxes. “How can we talk about taxes when we have a Budget that continues, in the same line as the PS, to load consumption and indirect taxes to finance State spending, its size and weight?”he stated.
Portuguese Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro
JOSÉ SENA GOULÃO/LUSA
IL considers that Montenegro spoke of an “oasis” where he lives alone
Also for the Liberal Initiative, the prime minister spoke in a “oasis”, but “in which only the Prime Minister and the Government of the Democratic Alliance live”. “The Portuguese live in conditions that are not those that appear in the oasis that the Prime Minister wants to present”, criticized Rui Rocha. “The country needs serious change and this speech, which is a speech that seems happy with what it has been doing, is a speech very far removed from the country’s needs, it is a speech very far removed from the lives of the Portuguese”, insist the liberals.
Listing the “clear failures” of this Government (from health to education), Rui Rocha questions “How is it possible to give a self-praising speech when nothing essential has changed and many things have gotten worse, especially because time has passed and nothing has been resolved”. Furthermore, the Prime Minister presented himself “to the Portuguese with an exhausted political project”, making it appear that the approval of the State Budget has generally been exhausted.the entire political capacity of the Government”. This is when the country needs “energy” and “ambition”.
PCP points out that speech “does not fit with reality
In the PCP, Montenegro’s message was also seen as dissonant with reality. “The Prime Minister’s message is a message that speaks of a country unlike the one in which we live. It’s a message that doesn’t fit with the reality and difficulties of millions of Portuguese people”reacted the member of the Political Commission of the PCP Central Committee, Jaime Toga. Therefore, for communists, the prime minister’s speech “It does not bode well, because if the problems are not identified, we will not be able to solve the problems as there is a need to do.”
If for Luís Montenegro, this was a “turning year”, for the PCP “it is not possible for there to be a turnaround in national life if there is no increase in wages capable of replacing purchasing power” or if there are no “responses in the State Budget”. Even more so when, say the communists, the current OE is made to “respond to the interests of economic groups”.
More than “in messages and speeches”, the problem lies in “the response to the problems that the Portuguese people are faced with”.
BE urges Montenegro to “apologize to the country” for operation in Martim Moniz
The Left Bloc reacted to Montenegro’s words, arguing that Treating people “with dignity and humanism would be recognizing” that the police operation on Rua do Benformoso, in Martim Moniz, “It was a politically motivated action and to apologize to the country”. “The government recognizes that Portugal is a safe country, however, treating people with dignity and humanism is not pushing them against the wall as we have seen in the operations of recent days,” said Aliyah Bhikha, from the Blocist political commission.
In the short statement, he added: “We entered 2024 and left 2024 with an increasingly worsening crisis in both housing and health. The Left Bloc has presented different proposals and we know that it would take a different path to what has been done”.
Tiago Pereira Santos
Morning Express
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Livre accuses Government of “rhetorical giving in to the extreme right”
For Free, Paulo Muacho pointed out flaws to Govenro and was categorical: “We give a very negative rating and have many reservations regarding the Government’s work”.
Elaborating, the deputy accused the Government of one “rhetorical concession to the extreme right” in matters of migration and securityadopting a “policy that is increasingly security-based”. Regarding Health (which was the banner of the AD campaign), he highlights that “the majority of SUS problems remain unsolved and the Government has not provided this response”. This is while “thousands of students have been out of class since the beginning of the year.”
He still regretted the “tax reduction policy” that “privileges those who have more and those who do not need this support” and the “ecology policy without a major action plan” to combat climate change. The deputy also accused the prime minister of an attempt to take political advantage of the “extraordinary increase in pensions”, which “was done against the will of the government”.
Montenegro’s speech “does not excite” PAN
The PAN was not “moved” by the Prime Minister’s Christmas message, which it accuses of having a speech “completely different from his government action”. “The Prime Minister cannot say one thing at Christmas and do another throughout the year”said Inês Sousa Real. With many challenges ahead, it is I need to “move from words to action”.
So, it doesn’t matter if the Prime Minister says he is on the side of professionals if he then allows his bench to vote against the appreciation of these professionals. In the same way, “doesn’t excite” when he talks about climate change or animal protection, when the votes in Parliament don’t go in that direction either.
CDS refutes criticism from the left and reiterates that it supports security policy
The only positive note to Montenegro’s speech came from the Governance partner. The parliamentary leader of the CDS-PP reiterated that the party identifies with the Government’s security policy and refuted left-wing criticism of Martim Moniz’s operation, considering that they “make no sense”. “The police did their job and have the full support of the CDS and the Government in their capacity. The Portuguese can trust the police to guarantee security and to guarantee the fight against violent crime. The CDS advocates more policing, greater visibility, more police on the streets and more special prevention operations
of crime like this, always respecting the laws and rules of a democratic rule of law”, he stated.
Thus, Paulo Núncio considered that Luís Montenegro “did very well in including the issue of security in his Christmas message, because security is a fundamental right of citizens and the police have the obligation to defend and ensure this fundamental right of citizens”.
For the centrist, this Government “has adopted a set of measures in the last nine months that, in many cases, have done more for the Social State than the PS did in the last eight years”. “The Portuguese are beginning to feel changes for the better in their lives and the CDS is enormously proud to belong to this Government and deeply identified with its policies”, he added.
Source: expresso.pt
