Among destroyed factories in Proença-a-Nova, presidential candidate António José Seguro chose to be accompanied by journalists, which had not happened the day before. At the Proença-a-Nova Business Park (PEPA), Castelo Branco, the socialist was warned by local mayors to “between the lines” in the support and responded that he will remain vigilant. “I came to do my duty and, if I deserve the trust of the Portuguese, I will come here immediately after the inauguration to see if support is arriving”, he promised.
It was without neglecting the environmental theme and the importance of supporting the population that Seguro toured the affected economies, highlighting, like Beirao, in the district where he was born, that the “State abandons the people who live in these areas a little”. “I want to keep alive the need for the announced support to arrive quickly. One of the President’s functions is to be vigilant, to see if things are carried out as promised”, he said, admitting that, as a candidate, he does not have to talk to the Government yet, but that he is “available if that is useful to help the support arrive”. “I will not spare myself,” he said.
Without wanting to “mix things up”, he adopted, however, a position that the PS itself defends, greater delegation of powers to municipalities. “How is it that at a national level [do Governo] Do we know the extent of a catastrophe of this nature?”, he asked, remembering the extinction of Civil Governments in the times of the troika.
André Ventura, in Torres Vedras, pointed to Castro Almeida. “As a new wave of bad weather approaches, I hope that all the powers of the State do what they did not do before, work to prevent the catastrophe. We have made statements that only embarrass the Portuguese State. The Minister of Economy and Territorial Cohesion said that affected Portuguese people should use last month’s salary. These statements are harmful. It’s an insult to people”, stressed the president of Chega, adding that “it’s not too much to ask for statements like these to be stopped” in comment to the words of the Minister of Internal Administration who said “she doesn’t know that there is a Civil Protection plan.”
Ventura also spoke about the exemption from tolls on sections of the A8, A17, A14 and A19 for a week to criticize the delay in implementing the measure. “Finally, the State did what I have been asking for for three days, which is to exempt this disaster zone from tolls. We are talking about areas where people are moving to take food and repair electrical poles”he said, then pointing to Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa: “Does it remind anyone that the President of the Republic, at a time like this, goes to the Vatican? It’s a beautiful image, which makes us all proud, but in the middle of a storm? It should be alongside people.” Ventura has a habit of contesting state visits and Marcelo said he had doubts about his presence, in the middle of the presidential campaign, for fear of electoral influence.
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