Full debate
António Filipe, candidate supported by the PCP, and André Ventura, candidate supported by Chega, faced each other this Saturday in the cycle of 28 debates for the run-up to the Presidential elections.
Presidential candidate António Filipe sought, this Saturday, to ‘stick’ André Ventura to Passos Coelho, considering that he is part of the “neoliberal consensus”, with his opponent countering that the communist likes dictatorships and is a danger to democracy.
In a face-to-face broadcast on RTP, André Ventura began by rejecting the idea that he had changed his position regarding labor legislation, showing news that, in August, he had already indicated that he would vote against the Government’s proposal if it maintained standards relating, for example, to breastfeeding or the payment of overtime.
“Chega was the only one that remained firm and coherent from the beginning”, he claimed, with António Filipe rejecting André Ventura’s theory, considering that he recently changed his speech on the matter, which he attributed to the “great success of the strike” on Thursday.
“Eu I think that [Ventura] there was a change of speechoit is not necessarily a change of position. The change of position will be when the Government presents this proposed law to the Assembly of the Republic. It will be the test of cotton in relation to where it is,” he said.
Ventura immediately countered that he will vote against the Government’s proposal if it remains as isdespite expressing his willingness to negotiate it, accusing António Filipe of only being critical of the Government’s proposal because he knows that the PCP “will not count for anything” in its approval or lead.
“I have a responsibility: whether there is labor reform or not”, said Ventura, with António Filipe taking the opportunity to highlight that André Ventura has shown himself available to, “if the Government drops one thing or another, approve the others”, equally negative.
“The difference between us is this: I am clearly on the side of the workers and André Ventura is on the side of the big economic interests”, he accused, recalling that the current leader of Chega admitted that would not have advanced a presidential candidacy if former Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho had entered the race.
“This says everything about the purposes of his candidacy: he supported the worst Government that Portugal has had since the 25th of April, which was the Government of Passos Coelho, which wanted to go beyond the ‘troika'”, he accused, before stating that André Ventura is of the “neoliberal consensus” and he himself is the candidate who is “against the system” — one of Ventura’s ‘slogans’.
After hearing this ‘collage’ to Pedro Passos Coelho, Ventura responded in kind: “The António Filipe likes dictatorsslikes Fidel Castro, Nicolás Maduro, China, North Korea”.
“But we are not a communist country, and therefore, if you ask me, I would prefer and be proud to have a candidate who was Pedro Passos Coelho”, he said, accusing António Filipe of presenting himself as the “guardian of workers”, but of, during the ‘contraption’ period, having collaborated with a Government “where housing rose like it had never risen before, immigration was absolutely out of control” and the country “was left with a security mess”.
The two candidates then addressed the supposed threats that constitute to democracywith António Filipe considering that Ventura is a danger to the regime as it exists, because he defends a revision of the Constitution despite being a candidate for President of the Republic, a position in which he would have to swear to “comply with and enforce” the current fundamental law.
Ventura countered that António Filipe wants to leave the euro and NATO — with his opponent responding that it is a lie –, accusing him of being the real threat to democracy.
“This is bullshit”replied António Filipe, before both addressed the issue of security, with Ventura arguing that there must be a state of exception to give extraordinary powers to the police to combat crime.
“I prefer a dead criminal to a dead policeman”he said, with António Filipe considering this stance “very serious”, highlighting that a head of state “does not give powers to the police” and accusing Ventura of having the leader of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, as a model, with the leader of Chega admitting that he reviews his policies.
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