Between the “lobbyist” and the “desperate”, who is “worse than Ventura”?

Gouveia e Melo accused Marques Mendes of having a professional background as a lobbyist and business facilitator. The social democrat responded that the admiral resorts to insinuations out of desperation due to the polls, comparing him to André Ventura.

The last face-to-face between presidential candidates, contested by Marques Mendes and Gouveia e Meloon , on Monday night, was characterized, from start to finish, by serious accusations between both.

Right from the start, the former Chief of Staff of the Navy went on the attack, saying that the former president of the PSD and current State Councilor owed explanations to the Portuguese for having a professional path of “opacity” in terms of business and interests.

Gouveia e Melo asked his opponent for explanations, especially in relation to what he did at the firm Abreu Advogados and as a partner at JMF, in which associated it with golden visa processes, showing newspaper titles.

“You should tell the Portuguese what your profession really is, besides being a commentator”, he stated.

“Transformed into André Ventura”

Marques Mendes, in the counterattack, said that he admired the admiral when he coordinated the vaccination plan, he even stated that “the country is grateful to him” for that time, but that now, as a presidential candidate, changed his personality, desperate to be falling in the polls.

“It wasted enormous capital of popularity, credibility and prestige”stated Marques Mendes, saying, afterwards, that the admiral specialized in “politics, through permanent insinuations” and “he is transformed into André Ventura”.

The State Councilor challenged his opponent to “give a concrete example” of a conflict of interests, or promiscuity between politics and business. Gouveia e Melo then referred to Mendes’ participation in the JMF, but refused the role of developing the matter, saying that this would be “turning things around”.

At this point regarding the JMF, the former president of the PSD rejected having had any relationship with golden visas. And he reacted against the admiral: “This role suits him very badly”.

The issue regarding Marques Mendes’ professional career occupied the first 20 minutes of a 30-minute debate, and was returned to at the end.

In one of the most tense moments, Henrique Gouveia e Melo addressed Marques Mendes as follows: “You are not transparent, you have to justify what you do at Abreu Advogados to earn the salary you earn. It may be perfectly legal, but ethically speaking, your business relationships…”

The State Councilor immediately interrupted: “What’s the deal? Sorry, What business specifically? Give an example, a single“, he stated, before once again regretting his opponent’s acting style – a style of aggressiveness that he associated with “Socratics” who are in the admiral’s candidacy.

“After all, it’s worse than Ventura”

“My life in my company I made it all public, my life at the office is very correct and I have never had any problems with the Tax Authority, my work is honest, clean”, stated Marques.

“After all, you are worse than André Venturayou are really desperate, because of the polls”, repeated the social democrat.

“The person who runs his campaign, Luís Bernardo, In military language, it is a kind of political general“, accused Marques Mendes. Remember that Luís Bernardo was an advisor to José Sócrates. Admiral Gouveia e Melo retorted, saying that no one is in charge of him.

More “insinuations”… and then the “excuses”

Another “hot” part of the debate came after Marques Mendes pointed out that an anonymous complaint against him had been filed with the Attorney General’s Office (PGR), which led Gouveia e Melo to comment: “This case is very interesting, because Doctor António Costa has been waiting for months to be told clearly whether he is a defendant or not. And you, in a day and a half, immediately managed.”

Marques Mendes then left him a warning: “You just said something something very serious” by “insinuating” that there was an investigation with the PGR. And Gouveia e Melo declared: “So, I apologize.”

Throughout the debate, the admiral also tried to question Marques Mendes’ political independence, linking him to the PSD and the prime minister, Luís Montenegro.

“If you are President and the Prime Minister is accused, what do you do? Are you going to fire the Prime Minister?”, he asked. Marques Mendes claimed that this scenario does not arise, especially because Luís Montenegro “has just been cleared in the Spinumviva case”.

O admiral countered that “the prime minister currently has another process underway” and stated that his position is to only allow dissolution of parliament in “very serious” circumstances.

“I have a desperate man in front of me. Anyone who raises suspicions is not recommended to be President of the Republic”, declared Marques Mendes.