Presidential candidate André Ventura today accused the President of the Republic of conditioning the approval of the new laws on foreigners and nationality, and criticized him for his silence on the health situation.
“You don’t know everything yet. But you will soon. This President truly conditioned the Immigration Law and the Nationality Law. He truly conditioned them. Those in the main parties, in Chega, in the PS, in the PSD, know this. There was a behind-the-scenes political conditioning of the work on nationality and immigration,” argued André Ventura during a lunch-debate promoted by the International Club of Portugal, which took place in a hotel in Lisbon.
In response to a question from the audience, the leader of Chega argued that it is up to the President of the Republic to be "intervening" in the sense of "saying when things are going the wrong way," adding that the current head of state, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, has used this possibility of intervening to influence the final version of the new laws on immigration and nationality.
Ventura stated that this behind-the-scenes intervention, which he considered legitimate, occurred because Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa believes that "it is not necessary to control immigration, to have more control over who enters" and is also against the loss of nationality due to conviction for serious crimes.
After highlighting the legitimacy of the alleged intervention by the President of the Republic, Ventura said that he would never block, if elected, laws that strip criminals of their nationality, but added that he would use his power as head of state to, for example, prevent fuel prices from rising.
Regarding the role of the head of state in governance, André Ventura considered that it is up to the President "to have a role in leading the country's affairs in certain areas," criticizing Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa for "remaining silent" in the face of the failures, reported in recent days, in the response of the National Health Service (SNS).
“We all remember Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa saying that a Secretary of State had a burden because her husband had a debt that was affecting her, in António Costa's government. So that burden exists. And the burden of people dying while waiting for INEM (National Institute of Medical Emergency) assistance, (…) more than 100 were born outside the maternity ward, the fact that people continue to die for lack of medical care, the President remains silent,” he said.
And he added: “Then we didn’t need a President, frankly. So we can put a King back in. Because if it’s to do nothing, if it’s to have a first lady, if it’s to cut ribbons, to ride on a horse. I’m not for that. If they want me as a figurehead, I’m not fit for that. And I think everyone here knows that. Nobody is going to vote for André Ventura by mistake, that’s for sure,” he added.