Manuel de Almeida / Lusa
Admiral Henrique Gouveia and Melo during the official presentation of his candidacy for the Presidency of the Republic, Lisbon, May 29, 2025
Lunch, which took place in late August, aimed to discuss issues of common interest between Admiral and André Ventura.
Mário Ferreira, entrepreneur and financier of the presidential campaign of Henrique Gouveia and Melo, was the host of a discreet political lunch who joined the former chief of the Armada Staff and arrival leader André Ventura.
The meeting, which took place at the end of August at Quinta da Carlota, in Torres Vedras, was revealed by and aimed to provide a conversation about “Common interest matters”Between the presidential candidate and the arrival leader.
The businessman from Douro Azul, who also has TVI and CNN Portugal, is not in the national territory and did not make statements About the meeting. Ventura also did not respond to the newspaper’s contacts, while Gouveia and Melo, through an advisor, merely said that he did not comment.
The approach between Ventura and Gouveia and Melo is not unprecedented. In May, in a television interview, the arrival leader did not exclude supporting an independent application With strong profile and anti -corruption, although it has discarded names like Marques Mendes. A year earlier, Ventura even declared enthusiasm for the hypothesis of supporting Gouveia and Melo or Pedro Passos Coelho.
However, in late 2024, Ventura changed his position and announced that his party would have his own candidate for the presidential. Your own candidacy was even scheduled for February 28 In the Jeronimos Monastery, but was canceled due to the Spinumviva case, being replaced by a video. Later, with the convening of early legislative elections, Ventura gave up definitively.
Now, a few days from a national council of arrival, the hypothesis of Ventura return to the presidential race. The party leader has left several public messages that point in this regard, but still not confirmed.
The episode thickens the speculation around alliances and support in the race to Bethlehem, which promises to be one of the most disputed in recent years.
