Volt Portugal starts campaign in Algarve: the European party’s priority is the creation of administrative regions
Tiago Matos Gomes, president of Volt Portugal, said this Sunday that the creation of administrative regions is one of the “flags” of his party. For Matos Gomes, there cannot be “first-class regions and second-class regions”.
Speaking to the Lusa agency, during the campaign in Olhão, the president defends a national debate to give a future to the process in the next legislature: “we have a country that is sometimes unicephalic, sometimes bicephalous, between Lisbon and Porto, and obviously that the inland regions are with this or as regions that are not so close to Lisbon and Porto”.
The objective is greater equality and less centralism between regions.
Campaigning in the Algarve used that same region as an example – “the first region to experience what it is like to be an administrative region”. He walked through the main streets of the city, distributed pamphlets and contacted the few people he met on the streets and on the esplanades.
Matos Gomes also underlined that the Volt is a party that exists throughout Europe, “it is a pan-European party”. Running on the list in the legislation on the 3rd in Lisbon, he had time to encourage votes for the Portuguese land forums. “We can’t vote here,” replies a French couple. “Yes, but they can vote in France for the same party”. And the walk continues with similar problems.
“I don’t vote here, I’m Italian”, declares a man sitting on an esplanade in front of the Ria Formosa. He’s about 60 years old. Still “Are you from the Socialist Question?”. “We are not a center party. And you can also vote for Volt in Italy”, says one of the members of the Volt Portugal entourage. But the answer was not what they expected: “I am on the right”.
Speaking to Agência Lusa, Tiago Gomes says he wants to adopt a model that respects the will of the populations and does not separate local communities, allowing them to maintain their traditions.
“I do not think, and this is a personal opinion, that the current Coordination and Regional Development Commissions (CCDR), which divide, for example, Ribatejo into two regions (…) do not seem to me to be a good model. [para a criação de regiões administrativas]”.
This weekend, Tiago Matos Gomes and Bruno Ferreira (head-of-list for Faro) tour the municipalities of Portimão, Faro and Olhão.
The Prime Minister, António Costa, last December, said that there would be no congress of the National Association of Portuguese Municipalities, which, after evaluating the path of decentralization of competences in 2023, the following year, will be given a “voice to the people”. The capacity to integrate into the coordination and regional development (CC) commissions of the different devolved State administration bodies will be ensured.
The President of the Republic Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, showed his ideas in favor of holding the referendum on regionalization in 2024. He was encouraged in the party regarding the election day, as a delivery in his ideas to the theme.
In 1998, in the referendum on regionalization, of the 4.1 million voters, 63.52% answered “no” to the question “Do you agree with the specific institution of administrative regions?”.
Photo: Lusa