Cotrim de Figueiredo accused by Marques Mendes of being an “embarrassed” mirror of André Ventura
Luís Marques Mendes accused his presidential opponent João Cotrim de Figueiredo of having made a “very ugly and regrettable personal attack” on him, for having said “without foundations” that he was pressured to give up, by Marques Mendes’ candidacy.
Luís Marques Mendes and João Cotrim de Figueiredo This Sunday, they were face to face in a debate, for the presidential elections, on TVI and .
At the start of the debate, Luís Marques Mendes complained of having been “the victim of a very ugly, very regrettable personal attack” by João Cotrim Figueiredo, who stated, in an interview with Expresso, two weeks ago, that he was pressured by Marques Mendes’ candidacy to give up.
The former PSD leader asked the IL MEP to publicly clarify who pressured him, arguing that “accusations of this gravity are not made without presenting evidence and without providing grounds”.
“When did I speak to you to pressure you to give up? Who were the people who, in my name, pressured you to give up? Accusations of this gravity are not made without presenting evidence”, said Marques Mendes.
João Cotrim de Figueiredo mentioned that he never said that the pressure came directly from Marques Mendes, but refused to name who asked him to give up.
“André Ventura embarrassed” (…) “assumed”
The liberal reiterated that they were “outstanding supporters of Luís Marques Mendes”, who “assumed they were part of your candidacy” and were authorized by the candidate.
“Accusations of this gravity are not made in the light way he did. If I didn’t raise this issue, I wouldn’t be a person of character. Anyone who doesn’t feel that way is not the son of good people. I draw the following conclusion: João Cotrim de Figueiredo made unfounded accusations. There is no evidence, no basis”, criticized, Marques Mendes
“You behave like a kind of embarrassed André Venturabecause he makes accusations and does not prove them. AND That doesn’t recommend him for President of the Republic, even disqualifies him”, added the former PSD leader.
What about the country?
Throughout the debate, the differences of opinion between the two became clear.
João Cotrim de Figueiredo criticized Marques Mendes’ proposal to include a young man on the State Councilconsidering that “this is not what will give prominence to youth”, with the social democrat highlighting the importance of this body and mentioning that it is an “opportunity to give a voice to young people”.
“The President of the Republic has the right to designate five members of the Council of State. A young man has never been appointed. And I will designate a young man. I want to tell you that I have had a lot of contact with young people and everyone really values this ideathis commitment”, justified the former PSD minister.
Faced with the changes to labor lawthe two also disagreed on the stance that candidates should adopt, with the liberal to say he would enacteven if we don’t agree with everything, and Luís Marques Mendes to prefer to speak out at the end of the legislative process, calling for “balance and social dialogue”.
To combat poverty, both agree that economic growth is neededbut Marques Mendes considered that it cannot be expected that “the market will solve the problems of the elderly, pensioners and retirees with pensions of 300, 400 or 500 euros”.
Luís Marques Mendes also criticized proposals already defended by IL, such as single IRS rate or the privatization of Caixa Geral de Depósitos.
Prudence or change?
The former IL leader highlighted that, despite not having as much political experience as his opponent, he has “a vision regarding Portuguese society and what its future should be that is much more modern and fresh than most of the other candidates”.
Cotrim argued that Luís Marques Mendes “privileges prudence in times of change”, but “prudence can equal fear of change”.
“I often hear Luís Marques Mendes talk about stability, but stability, in the current situation, is stagnation”, he added.
Previously, Marques Mendes had recalled that the “President of the Republic has a mediating power and has to be moderate, but it is not being softit’s not even about being loose, it’s about being firm.”
