In a debate in which candidates from such different political spectrums didn’t even differ that much. In the RTP studio, this Friday, December 12th, Luís Marques Mendes recalled the political crisis of 2022, the dissolution of the Assembly of the Republic after the failure to approve António Costa’s PS State Budget, to attack Catarina Martins.
“My two main objectives are stability and ambition. Catarina Martins in 2022 caused instability by not approving the then government’s State Budget. You can talk about stability, but at a critical moment it caused instability”said the former social-democratic leader, alluding to the Left Bloc’s vote against.
The former bloc leader defended herself by stressing that this budget did not reinforce the capacity of the SNS, an “injustice” that the Government of António Costa did to the National Health Service and the Minister of Health at the time, Marta Temido, and that this lack of disinvestment contributed to the scenario of chaotic emergencies and births in ambulances that we experience today.
Still on this dissolution, Catarina Martins criticized the vision of a President of the Republic who chooses to dissolve parliament in the event of a failure of the State Budget: “If a President of the Republic allows governments to use the State Budget as motions of censure as they see fit, people’s lives will never be debated. A President of the Republic with a different vision of the Government will launch debates in another way to unblock the country.”
“I think the election of a President of the Republic with a spectrum very aligned with the Government and who is not clear in approach is a danger”, he added, before showing his smartphone as an example — each element of the device is developed, he assured, with some state subsidy — to defend the energy transition and public investment as drivers of the Portuguese economy.
Regarding the general strike, Catarina Martins considered it “a huge success”, as it saw “people from different generations fighting” for their rights as workers, and accused the Government of having placed itself “in an impossible situation and insulting the unions”.
“What the Government proposes makes people work more hours for less money and had an arrogant proposal to address the strike”, continued the candidate.
The position of Marques Mendes, who considered that the “strike was democracy at work”, ended up not being very different, having called for an “approach to the workers”. “That the situation is blocked is evident, because there is no type of understanding. I have been advising two things: social dialogue between everyone and balance. A company is shareholders, managers and workers. This agreement should be broader than the labor package, which has salaries, income policy, professional training and tax policy. Government says that objectives are productivity gains, but, if there are, how will they be distributed? There must be an approach to workers”, defended the candidate, who did not want to elaborate too much because he considers that there is some probability of be elected and therefore should not “meddle” or “give advice”, but rather “call for negotiation and make concrete and constructive suggestions”.
Regarding immigration, Catarina Martins said that “that story about immigrants living off social security is a lie”, adding that “it is necessary to analyze the evolution of employment and the economy to understand what is happening”. The MEP also presented herself as “a strong supporter of a humanist and integration policy”.
In response, Marques Mendes, who called for a “balance between integration and regulation and economy”, released one of the comments of the night: “I don’t like low wages either. Catarina doesn’t have a better heart than me.”
Regarding Chega, Catarina Martins believes that André Ventura’s party will never reach the Government and guarantees that it will not inaugurate a minister without the conditions to assume office, while Marques Mendes once again defended the written statement that no anti-constitutional measures would be proposed, something necessary because “Chega is persistently proposing anti-constitutional measures, such as life imprisonment”.
Regarding the international situation, Catarina Martins defended a “position on European security in Europe” and solidarity with Ukraine and for Russia to pay for the “destruction” it caused.
“Essentially I agree and subscribe to what Catarina Martins said. It is the worst moment in the relationship between Europe and the USA since World War II. It is necessary to reinforce investment in Defense. Ukraine’s defeat is Europe’s defeat and we must be in solidarity”, added Marques Mendes, who also called for the instruments of public-private partnerships (PPP) to be used in public hospitals and for the Government to invest in newspaper distribution.