United in looking for a leftist majority

Mariana Mortágua and Rui Tavares sought to find disagreements between free and left block (BE) in the television debate for legislative elections, broadcast by SIC Notícias. Not many, the future of Europe being the main discord.

Regarding the electoral result, Mariana Mortágua said that the PS has been “very clear” about her strategy: she wants one more vote than the PSD to govern with the support of the PSD. “This campaign will be about the left’s ability to have more deputies to impose measurements,” he says. To recover the majority and the « will » on the left, it is not possible to give in to the « most fundamental principles on the left, » he warns. “I hope this campaign can serve to bring votes to BE and deputies on the left”

Regarding whether it is to blink the eye to the PS the statements about “understandings for a progressive governance” Rui Tavares says “it could also be to Mariana” Mortágua. « Look left because they find more response on the left and vitality in our debate, » he said, refusing to be talking about the PS but of a « progressive governance and ecology. »

Europe’s future has brought more disagreement, with Rui Tavares saying that the European Union is good for the average and small countries and an opposition to the imperialist projects of Putin, Xi Jinping and Donald Trump. Already Mariana Mortágua believes that there must be solidarity and mechanisms of coordination but « we criticize this arms drift. »

The leader of O BE defends military cooperation at European level and that Portugal has to do its part, but differs from free on the idea that we should spend more on weaponry. “What is at stake is to feed a defense industry,” he says, to say that the goal is to have an “economic project” and that Europe cannot accept that it is weaponry instead of housing, public services and ecological transition.

Tavares says that « he doesn’t want to think that Putin is a flu, as Bolsonaro said from Covid », but that « it cannot prevent the EU from making the ecological transition and social investment it needs to do » and that there is a large space for Europe to make investment and there is a great possibility of Europe to emit ordinary debt.  »

Changing the topic, Mariana Mortágua said she agrees with the salary fans proposal: « If the manager wants to earn two million a year has no harm, but increase the worker. »

Confronted with the measure of a ratio between the highest and lowest salary of a company, Rui Tavares gave as an example « the EU’s domestic market that is regulated by directives and regulations legislated by the European Parliament and that allow us to do so. »

The BE Coordinator, on the other hand, says it is necessary to have thoughts about the economy and that sectors want to develop. The state, he argued, has an obligation to realize which sectors are essential to save, without specific “parameters”.

Rui Tavares added that today « there is a lot of space for companies with more cooperative models » that give the « possibility of creating economic opportunity and sophisticating the economy. »