Marques Mendes “welcomes” Gouveia e Melo to the “presidential marathon”
Belém candidate Luís Marques Mendes today classified Gouveia e Melo's opinion article as “a declaration of candidacy” and saluted the former Chief of Staff of the Navy, welcoming him to the presidential marathon.
Luís Marques Mendes was the opening speaker at the “Pensar Portugal” convention, organized by SEDES (Association for Economic and Social Development) youth, which is taking place at the Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon.
In his speech, Mendes argued that “there is no politics without politicians” and, at the end, when questioned by journalists about Henrique Gouveia e Melo’s article in Expresso – in which, without assuming a candidacy, the military man criticizes the fact that a President has links to political parties – he declined to comment on its content.
“I saw this opinion piece as a declaration of candidacy for the Presidency of the Republic. And so, I congratulate Gouveia Melo for this declaration of candidacy. He is welcome. At this point, I would just like to say a few words of greeting, to welcome you to the presidential marathon and I would add that we will have good opportunities and rich opportunities here for a good debate of ideas”, responded the former leader of the PSD.
Asked if this non-politician could enrich the campaign for the in-person elections in January next year, Mendes responded: “We all hope that all candidates enrich the campaign.”
The presidential candidate was also asked by journalists whether he understood that the Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, clarified all doubts about his family's company, in Friday's motion of censure, and admitted to having been surprised.
“It surprised me, in the sense that it provided a series of clarifications and explanations that were greater, even more profound than I had imagined. There are others who think differently, and we have to respect that,” he said.
When asked if he had been enlightened, he responded affirmatively: “It clarified things for me, although I perhaps didn’t have as many doubts as others because I know him”, he said, reiterating that he considers that Luís Montenegro “kept his word when he said he would clarify things in greater depth than many imagined”.
In front of the students, Mendes repeated some of the flags of his candidacy, such as greater ambition for Portugal or the need for politics to be conducted with ethical values and good politicians.
“There is no politics without politicians. Either we have good politicians in politics or we have less good politicians in politics. And since I defend good political decisions, I think that good political decisions only come with good political decisions,” he said, reiterating his defense of reviewing the method of choosing deputies.
Mendes appealed to the students in the audience to “be demanding, raise their voices within reasonable levels” - “it’s not exactly how it’s been done lately in the Assembly of the Republic” - to ask for “politics with ethics, with integrity, with credibility”.
“If things happen without these values, people lose faith in politics. And if people lose faith in politics, the best people move away. And since the example comes from above, if a bad example comes from above, it contaminates everything else,” he said.
The candidate for Belém also insisted on the importance of political stability, which he defended at the beginning of February: “If a country spends its time in crises, if the country spends its time in elections, in dissolutions of parliament, obviously it is not taken seriously”, he said.
Mendes pointed out among his causes that Portugal should be “a richer, fairer and more cultured society” and suggested a social concertation agreement “focused exclusively on the objective of increasing wages”.
At this point, he considered that fiscal measures – some of which have already been adopted by the current PSD/CDS-PP Government – can help prevent the emigration of qualified young people, “but they are palliative”, pointing out that the decisive factor is to get the economy growing.
Asked whether he agreed with the possible unfreezing of tuition fees in the next academic year, Mendes defended what he called a balanced approach.
“The existence of tuition fees for some is an instrument to contribute to the financing of universities, but those who are poorer either should not pay or should have support from social action,” he said.
Mendes admitted that a President “does not legislate, nor make reforms”, but can be “an arbitrator, a mediator”, and highlighted regime agreements that he made when he was leader of the PSD, between 2005 and 2007.
“If someone could do it as an opposition leader, they can do much more as President of the Republic,” he stressed.
Belém candidate Luís Marques Mendes today classified Gouveia e Melo's opinion article as “a declaration of candidacy” and saluted the former Chief of Staff of the Navy, welcoming him to the presidential marathon.
Luís Marques Mendes was the opening speaker at the “Pensar Portugal” convention, organized by SEDES (Association for Economic and Social Development) youth, which is taking place at the Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon.
In his speech, Mendes argued that “there is no politics without politicians” and, at the end, when questioned by journalists about Henrique Gouveia e Melo’s article in Expresso – in which, without assuming a candidacy, the military man criticizes the fact that a President has links to political parties – he declined to comment on its content.
“I saw this opinion piece as a declaration of candidacy for the Presidency of the Republic. And so, I congratulate Gouveia Melo for this declaration of candidacy. He is welcome. At this point, I would just like to say a few words of greeting, to welcome you to the presidential marathon and I would add that we will have good opportunities and rich opportunities here for a good debate of ideas”, responded the former leader of the PSD.
Asked if this non-politician could enrich the campaign for the in-person elections in January next year, Mendes responded: “We all hope that all candidates enrich the campaign.”
The presidential candidate was also asked by journalists whether he understood that the Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, clarified all doubts about his family's company, in Friday's motion of censure, and admitted to having been surprised.
“It surprised me, in the sense that it provided a series of clarifications and explanations that were greater, even more profound than I had imagined. There are others who think differently, and we have to respect that,” he said.
When asked if he had been enlightened, he responded affirmatively: “It clarified things for me, although I perhaps didn’t have as many doubts as others because I know him”, he said, reiterating that he considers that Luís Montenegro “kept his word when he said he would clarify things in greater depth than many imagined”.
In front of the students, Mendes repeated some of the flags of his candidacy, such as greater ambition for Portugal or the need for politics to be conducted with ethical values and good politicians.
“There is no politics without politicians. Either we have good politicians in politics or we have less good politicians in politics. And since I defend good political decisions, I think that good political decisions only come with good political decisions,” he said, reiterating his defense of reviewing the method of choosing deputies.
Mendes appealed to the students in the audience to “be demanding, raise their voices within reasonable levels” - “it’s not exactly how it’s been done lately in the Assembly of the Republic” - to ask for “politics with ethics, with integrity, with credibility”.
“If things happen without these values, people lose faith in politics. And if people lose faith in politics, the best people move away. And since the example comes from above, if a bad example comes from above, it contaminates everything else,” he said.
The candidate for Belém also insisted on the importance of political stability, which he defended at the beginning of February: “If a country spends its time in crises, if the country spends its time in elections, in dissolutions of parliament, obviously it is not taken seriously”, he said.
Mendes pointed out among his causes that Portugal should be “a richer, fairer and more cultured society” and suggested a social concertation agreement “focused exclusively on the objective of increasing wages”.
At this point, he considered that fiscal measures – some of which have already been adopted by the current PSD/CDS-PP Government – can help prevent the emigration of qualified young people, “but they are palliative”, pointing out that the decisive factor is to get the economy growing.
Asked whether he agreed with the possible unfreezing of tuition fees in the next academic year, Mendes defended what he called a balanced approach.
“The existence of tuition fees for some is an instrument to contribute to the financing of universities, but those who are poorer either should not pay or should have support from social action,” he said.
Mendes admitted that a President “does not legislate, nor make reforms”, but can be “an arbitrator, a mediator”, and highlighted regime agreements that he made when he was leader of the PSD, between 2005 and 2007.
“If someone could do it as an opposition leader, they can do much more as President of the Republic,” he stressed.
Belém candidate Luís Marques Mendes today classified Gouveia e Melo's opinion article as “a declaration of candidacy” and saluted the former Chief of Staff of the Navy, welcoming him to the presidential marathon.
Luís Marques Mendes was the opening speaker at the “Pensar Portugal” convention, organized by SEDES (Association for Economic and Social Development) youth, which is taking place at the Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon.
In his speech, Mendes argued that “there is no politics without politicians” and, at the end, when questioned by journalists about Henrique Gouveia e Melo’s article in Expresso – in which, without assuming a candidacy, the military man criticizes the fact that a President has links to political parties – he declined to comment on its content.
“I saw this opinion piece as a declaration of candidacy for the Presidency of the Republic. And so, I congratulate Gouveia Melo for this declaration of candidacy. He is welcome. At this point, I would just like to say a few words of greeting, to welcome you to the presidential marathon and I would add that we will have good opportunities and rich opportunities here for a good debate of ideas”, responded the former leader of the PSD.
Asked if this non-politician could enrich the campaign for the in-person elections in January next year, Mendes responded: “We all hope that all candidates enrich the campaign.”
The presidential candidate was also asked by journalists whether he understood that the Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, clarified all doubts about his family's company, in Friday's motion of censure, and admitted to having been surprised.
“It surprised me, in the sense that it provided a series of clarifications and explanations that were greater, even more profound than I had imagined. There are others who think differently, and we have to respect that,” he said.
When asked if he had been enlightened, he responded affirmatively: “It clarified things for me, although I perhaps didn’t have as many doubts as others because I know him”, he said, reiterating that he considers that Luís Montenegro “kept his word when he said he would clarify things in greater depth than many imagined”.
In front of the students, Mendes repeated some of the flags of his candidacy, such as greater ambition for Portugal or the need for politics to be conducted with ethical values and good politicians.
“There is no politics without politicians. Either we have good politicians in politics or we have less good politicians in politics. And since I defend good political decisions, I think that good political decisions only come with good political decisions,” he said, reiterating his defense of reviewing the method of choosing deputies.
Mendes appealed to the students in the audience to “be demanding, raise their voices within reasonable levels” - “it’s not exactly how it’s been done lately in the Assembly of the Republic” - to ask for “politics with ethics, with integrity, with credibility”.
“If things happen without these values, people lose faith in politics. And if people lose faith in politics, the best people move away. And since the example comes from above, if a bad example comes from above, it contaminates everything else,” he said.
The candidate for Belém also insisted on the importance of political stability, which he defended at the beginning of February: “If a country spends its time in crises, if the country spends its time in elections, in dissolutions of parliament, obviously it is not taken seriously”, he said.
Mendes pointed out among his causes that Portugal should be “a richer, fairer and more cultured society” and suggested a social concertation agreement “focused exclusively on the objective of increasing wages”.
At this point, he considered that fiscal measures – some of which have already been adopted by the current PSD/CDS-PP Government – can help prevent the emigration of qualified young people, “but they are palliative”, pointing out that the decisive factor is to get the economy growing.
Asked whether he agreed with the possible unfreezing of tuition fees in the next academic year, Mendes defended what he called a balanced approach.
“The existence of tuition fees for some is an instrument to contribute to the financing of universities, but those who are poorer either should not pay or should have support from social action,” he said.
Mendes admitted that a President “does not legislate, nor make reforms”, but can be “an arbitrator, a mediator”, and highlighted regime agreements that he made when he was leader of the PSD, between 2005 and 2007.
“If someone could do it as an opposition leader, they can do much more as President of the Republic,” he stressed.
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