Speaking to journalists during a visit to the premises of the Crevide association in Moscavide, Loures, Luís Marques Mendes reacted to the two posters of André Ventura’s presidential candidacy with the phrases “This is not Bangladesh” and “Gypsies must abide by the law”, saying that “they are provocative, racist and in very bad taste” and that they only aim to provoke.
“André Ventura only wants one thing: to provoke, to get more publicity. And in this case, I think he even wants to provoke to see if anyone will sue him in court, so that he can play the victim and the hero at the same time. And I hope that no one in Portugal falls into that trap of suing him in court,” he said.
Marques Mendes said that bringing a case against Ventura because of these posters is “playing Chega’s (a far-right party) game”, preferring to “talk about the positive things that are being done in Portugal and those that need to be done”. However, he understands that “people are outraged”.
The PSD-backed presidential candidate also added that “André Ventura doesn’t know how to build anything positive” and reiterated that he will never be head of state.
“He only knows how to do basically two things. He only knows tavern language. That’s what he did when he talked about the three Salazars. Or he only knows how to make posters and provocative actions. To try and get more publicity. Watch out for one thing: someone who acts like this, with tavern language and provocative attitudes, will never be President of the Republic,” he said.
Marques Mendes also recalled the injunction issued by the president of the PSD and prime minister, Luís Montenegro, against the Chega posters during the last legislative elections to point out that the Social Democrats lost that case and argued that “we should learn from that mistake”.
The posters in question, which were recently put up across the country, have been criticised, and eight Roma associations have announced they will file a complaint with the Public Prosecutor’s Office and are considering a precautionary measure to have them removed.
The PS has also called on the Public Prosecutor’s Office to intervene and impose possible sanctions against the posters. The candidate for President of the Republic and leader of Chega, André Ventura, today refused to remove the posters with references to the gypsy community and Bangladesh, arguing that his freedom of expression is at stake.
Luís Marques Mendes was also asked about the agreement between the PSD and Chega to approve the revision of the nationality law, but chose not to comment, leaving his position until after the vote in parliament.
At the end of August, at the dinner-conference of the 21st edition of the PSD Summer University, Marques Mendes called for the nationality law to be approved with “a broad majority” that includes the PS, arguing that being moderate “is the path to success”.
Platform with Lusa
