First time prime minister has joined one of these new initiatives
Outgoing prime minister, Luís Montenegro, has announced that he will be attending the summit on Ukraine, organised by the United Kingdom, alongside president of the European Council, António Costa.
Speaking at the Better Tourism Lisbon Travel Market he explained he received an invitation from his British counterpart Keir Starmer, and will be taking part virtually, from the Ministry of Defence
The summit is due to start at 10 am, attended by countries that “”have been round the table in building a peace process, namely France and the countries that border Ukraine”.
According to the PM, the meeting aims to make “a contribution to a peace process that involves Ukraine, the European Union (EU), which can be based on security guarantees that open up a horizon of peace, of stability, so that we can rebuild the great country that is Ukraine in the context of Europe.”
Regarding his minister of foreign affairs trip today to Kyiv, Mr Montenegro said: “We have an understanding set out in a document that binds the Portuguese state to Ukraine for ten years and, therefore, we will continue to be an element of accompaniment and political, economic, humanitarian and military support for Ukraine.”
Questions predictably moved to the political crisis: the PM was asked if it would weaken Portugal’s role in the world. He said he “hopes not.
“Of course it will always cause some apprehension or at least some curiosity to understand the context, because Portugal has a very positive external image today and therefore I would say that, seen from the outside, our partners will show some surprise at what is happening,” he said.
But, certainly as far as the PM is prepared to admit to reporters, two months of electoral campaigning and a legislative election are not going to jeopardise the image of “a reliable, balanced country, with an economic performance above the EU average, with financial stability that is also more robust than most EU countries, even than the major European powers”.
“This doesn’t make us a country dazzled by the current situation, it makes us a country with a responsibility to maintain and add even better performance in the future,” he added.
During his visit to BTL, accompanied by ministers of the Economy, Pedro Reis, and the Environment and Energy, Maria da Graça Carvalho, Luís Montenegro stopped at various stalls, received gifts, and what Lusa describes as “a few messages of support”.
He then spoke to journalists about the importance of tourism for the Portuguese economy, arguing that Portugal has made “very positive progress” in the sector, which should be capitalised on, but creating “even more opportunities, not neglecting any of the important elements (…) Including, by the way, security.”
These rather ‘lop-sided’ reports will pepper the press from now on until voting on May 18. The truth is that the prime minister’s standing has been damaged by this crisis, and headlines every day, like Expresso’s this morning, claiming “Luís Montenegro promised, but did not deliver to PJ receipts on house in Espinho”, will do nothing to improve his image in the public eye.The reality, according to a recent poll, is that the majority of citizens have lost confidence in Mr Montenegro and are not at all convinced he can lead his party to a new victory. ND
